Mad Love (2001)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is not just the historical tale of two royals forced into a marriage for political reasons, it is also the story of a husband and wife with all the failings and successes a marriage can bring.Juana the daughter of the great Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella is sent to Flanders to marry the dashing Philip, known through out the word as Philip the Handsome. At first glance they fall in lust, that lust turns into love, for Juana at least, but for Philip is the love of power, as with the death of her older siblings Juana is now the heiress to the throne of Spain. It's the story of a jealous, clingy wife madly and deeply in love with her philandering bored husband who is using her as a pawn to get what he wants. The acting is brilliant, especially by the female lead. By the end of the movie you feel so completely attached to her you want her to be happy, you hate Philip and his callousness for destroying her. I watched the movie in Spanish and it was amazing, a second time I watched it with subtitles and can say I understood little more, it is a film that transcends language. If you love epics, if you love history, if you love love stories you must see this movie.

I thought the acting in the movie was exemplary. As a history student, anything I can watch that gives me a truer idea, a more "thick" description, of a time period is greatly enjoyable. This movie depicted the loneliness of being a queen, who is trustworthy, who one has great need to trust, and what happens when the only trust one has is betrayed. Although I have some Spanish abilities, I did struggle with this particular version because I think it was less modern, but that too added to the realism. The "insanity" depicted by the queen was questionably insane, which certainly helped the viewer to see those attempting to incarcerate Juana as being particularly duplicitous. I enjoyed this immensely.

I liked this film, but I think it could have been better. There were three things that, in my opinion, weakened its impact. The first thing was the presence of a narrator. I happen to believe that using a narrator in a film with characters and dialogue, although sometimes justifiable, is many times a sign of script or directing weakness; usually, if both the screenplay and the director are good enough, conveying all the information should be possible (and would be more powerful) without a narrator explaining what's going on.The second thing that bothered me was the acting. I found it impossible to connect with the characters, however poignant I found their story (OK, Liotti's looks grabbed my attention quite a bit, but I wouldn't chuck that up to talent...). I felt that de Ayala's acting lacked a certain depth and had a narrow range (most of it consisted of numerous infantile fits of rage in between scenes where she eagerly spread her legs). Liotti seemed lifeless, although I was told his voice was dubbed in Spanish, which usually lowers the power of a performance quite a bit (apparently, he originally delivered a lot of his dialogue in Italian).The third thing that bothered me was the film's (director's?) incapacity of explaining the roots and justification of Juana's mad love for Phillip. Yes, I know it was a powerful combination of lust and emotional dependency, that Juana was a passionate woman and apparently Phillip was quite a fiery lover, but I never felt the characters' passion.The film focused too little on Juana's personality/character and the way the chemistry between her and Phillip developed. I realized how powerful her passion for him was, but it was only thanks to the dialogue, not to the acting, neither to the filming style (does anyone else think the film needed more close-ups, mostly during highly emotional scenes?). In my opinion, the film scratches the surface emotionally and artistically, but fails to go deep.Having said all that, let me assure you that, overall I think it's still a film worth seeing, although definitely not for historical accuracy. The story, loosely based on the Spanish queen Juana de Castilla's life, is quite moving, maybe more for those who have experienced the kind of passion that Juana had for Phillip. A woman so passionately in love with her man, so consumed by her love and so anguished by his philandering and growing lack of reciprocity to her love that she becomes obsessed with possesing him and forgets she is a queen and that her first duty is to her people. I was just sorry to see such a passionate love story idea being presented in a bit of a lethargic manner.

I can't believe this film has such a low rating. Every time I see it in the video store, I think, "I wish I could erase my memory of it so I could see it again for the first time."The viewer gets an intimate look at life as a female member of a royal family during the 16th century. Unable to control with whom she spends her life or make basic choices, Juana is confined in a woman's role, yet has sexual passion fit only for men in her time. And possibly still in ours. It is up to the viewer to decide is she is "mad" or simply craves intimacy.An unpredicable, controversial, and beautifully filmed period film, don't pass this one up.