Although it is named after Goya, in the film Goya becomes the point of view or the clue, not the core character of the conflict. He is a witness to history (his experiences and knowledge), as well as a recorder and rebel (his paintings). Goya faced and dealt with all kinds of people, kings, priests, and commoners; he witnessed their ups and downs, their ups and downs, their ups and downs, their sufferings, their turbulent changes, the dark church and the invading army under various banners. The audience witnessed such a historical picture with him, but unfortunately in this picture, Goya's figure gradually blurred.
To know that Goya himself is very legendary and wonderful. He is a great painter of both romance and realism, and he is also an unyielding fighter who stands with the people against the church, the corrupt government and the invaders. At a time when religious regulations were strict, he painted "Maha in the Nude" (nudity was forbidden at the time), and also made eclipsed genre paintings, satirizing the church and the state. And the picture "Shooting the Rebels on the Night of May 3, 1808" (included in our middle school history textbook) "truly recorded the people's epic struggle and bloodshed, and became an immortal work witnessed by history." At the same time, he He was also the chief painter appointed by the king (court). All kinds of history that the director wants to express can be embodied in him (around him).
In the film, Goya's eclipse prints are also represented. But most of the time, he is not a rebel. He is an artist who adheres to the principles of art, a kind old man, a helpless bystander facing helplessness and misfortune and witnessing the repeated suffering and destruction of the angel in his heart.
If Goya's weakening is to make history emerge, then how will history appear? In fact, the reappearance of history is still inseparable from the fate of the characters.
Replacing Goya as the "protagonist" is Lorenzo, a monk played by Spain's best actor today, writhing in the center of the vortex. Changes in identities, beliefs, and even fates, as well as hypocrisy, lust, and other emotions and personalities, make this character the best commentary on this history. He is not a fiendish man because of his fickleness, nor his loyalty to his final death. He is neither a vindicator nor a martyr, but an unfortunate victim like those who die in the streets. Javier Bardem is unforgettable. He is one of the rare masters who can hold up a play by himself.
Elise, the model in Goya's painting and the angel in her heart, is another key figure in the film. Contrary to Lorenzo, she is a weak person who is always powerless to resist. From an ideal angel to a real lunatic, she represents the misery and despair of ordinary people. Natalie Portman plays Elise and her daughter, one person plays two roles and three images, a pure and beautiful girl, a weak and trance after being devastated, a prostitute with a stubborn character but forced to survive, the image impressive.
The scene of the execution of Lorenzo is the climax of the film, with various characters gathered together. Lorenzo on the torture stand in the center, priests and priests who have regained power, cheering people, the British as victors (heroes), watching and sketching Goya, thinking of finding his daughter and coming to find Lorenzo's Ichigo. Lais, the daughter of a prostitute who accompanied the British laughing and watching the fun, had different looks and different moods. Confused identities and relationships, ignorant blindness and absurdity (daughter to father, the public to the British), the unknown and the future that seems to be reappearing, the picture switches between different characters. And the execution is over, the music is played, the crowd disperses, is it all over? No, far from it.
"Elise!" The film ends with a shout from Goya. The end of the film seems a bit abrupt, but in retrospect it feels more meaningful. Elise turned back and smiled "happily", holding the picked baby, holding the hand of Lorenzo who died in the carriage, and went away to the sound of nursery rhymes. An extremely bizarre "family of three" is a microcosm of a dark and turbulent society, or a terrible relic. Those who were abandoned and buried by history, those who lived or died under the shroud of suffering and terror, those who were struggling or indifferent on this side and the other side, the once dark or cruel and endlessly revolving history, tangled into a silent and huge echo .
This is not a Goya movie, this is a Milos Foreman movie. It is a question whether it is the most appropriate way to give up the flesh-and-blood reality of history and recreate a "people who follow the crowd". But aside from the "regrets" about Goya, this is a well-made, well-acted, and engaging film with plenty of room to ponder.
View more about Goya's Ghosts reviews
