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JUANA LA LOCA/MAD LOVE

Juana la loca, as Vicente Aranda’s film is known in its native Spain, was made with the laudable intention of reviving the historical melodrama (a genre all but dead in theatrical films, though clinging to life on TV) and infusing it with a feminist, post-Foucault critical spirit. But its intelligence limits it: the tragedy of "Juana the Mad," the 16th-century Castilian queen whose passion for her husband got sacrificed on the altar of court politics, might have been better had it been madder and less programmatic. The film is like a not-too-accomplished play destined for a fitful career in tiny theaters in places like Boston, where its careful agonizing and innocent bawdiness can count on a respectful hearing. Notwithstanding Pilar López de Ayala’s deglamorized eroticism in the title role, Juana la loca has a tepid, canned sensibility that’s underlined by near-constant music, a perfunctory supporting cast, and veteran director Aranda’s methodical visual style. In Spanish with English subtitles. (123 minutes)

BY CHRIS FUJIWARA

Issue Date: September 5 - 12, 2002
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