Goya's Ghosts

What’s the Story?

Spanning the period from the Inquisition through the French Revolution and Napoleon, GOYA'S GHOSTS finds the Spanish Inquisitors upset about the latest etchings by royal court portraitist Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård), which they believe are heretical and represent everything that's wrong with Spain. Prodded on by Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), the Church takes action through secretive, intrusive, and inhumane tactics. As an observer, Goya is especially moved by the plight of his favorite portrait subject, Inés (Natalie Portman), who is unjustly tortured until she "confesses" to heresy, and is then imprisoned. Inés suffers decades of torment, alleviated only by occasional visits from Lorenzo, which eventually produce a child he denies. Outside, Goya continues to paint it as he sees it, from the beady eyes of Queen María Luisa (Blanca Portillo) to the Inquisition's looming shadows, his resilience speaking to the power of art and the truth of one man's vision. He leaves the Inquisitors to join the Enlightenment in France, and eventually returns to Spain to take part in sentencing his old boss in the Inquisition, Father Gregorio (Michael Lonsdale), to death.

Is It Any Good?

Structured as an odd, even glib series of plot turns, the films turms Goya into something of a Forrest Gump for his time. Miloš Forman's movie makes an argument that these troubled times resemble our own, as those in power work hard to maintain their position, encouraging fear and conformity among the mostly underclass population.

The excesses of authority were, of course, a favorite subject for Goya. And if the movie doesn't take up his distinctive visual style, it does embrace his broad satire, ferociously targeting religious, state, and financial leaders. When at last Inés is released, Goya helps find her teenage daughter (also played by Portman), who is now a prostitute. By this point, Goya has lost his hearing, and must speak through an interpreter. Here Goya's Ghosts underscores both the need for communication and its elusiveness.