This is a Spanish film which portrays some key events in Spanish history from
the 1570s, when Spain was positioned to control the seas and the New World.
The Spanish had just defeated the Turks at the naval battle of Lepanto, and
were turning their attention to the only other remaining naval super power,
England. The rival between the Spanish and English monarchs was particularly
vituperative in that period, because Phillip of Spain had once been married to
Mary, the half-sister of Elizabeth of England, back when Mary was actually the
English queen. In theory, this union was to unite the two kingdoms, and Philip
was even awarded the title of King of England by Parliament. Sort of. He was
not a regnant king, but the husband of a regnant queen - the same position
held today by Prince Phillip, but with a different title. When Mary died,
Philip of Spain lost all claims to English titles, as per their marriage contract, but
he was not one to give up easily. He soon offered to marry Elizabeth! That
didn't work out for religious reasons (Elizabeth was Protestant), and the two
of them continued to maneuver against one another for years. Elizabeth aligned
herself with Protestant dissidents in The Netherlands, which was then under
Spanish dominion, while Philip countered by aligning himself with Catholic
dissidents in England and Ireland who hoped to overthrow Elizabeth and replace
her with her Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart, "Queen of Scots." When Mary
Stuart's execution in 1587 ended Philip's crusade for an internal conquest of
England, he started scheming to prepare an outright invasion. You have
probably read about the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, but that was by
no means the end of Spain's ambitions in Britain. England and Spain remained
at war for another fifteen years, until both of their famous sovereigns were
dead. Philip II, who was certainly not lacking in ambition, also remained
constantly at war with France and with patriotic Dutch factions in The
Netherlands.
The El Escorial of the
title is the
glorious residential palace Philip built near Madrid, supposedly based on the
floor plan of The Temple of Solomon, as described by Josephus Flavius, a
famous Roman/Jewish historian who lived shortly after the time of Jesus. In
the title of this film, the building metaphorically represents the court of
Phillip, with all of its pomp and intrigues. The film is about one such
intrigue involving two scheming nobles who conspired to prevent the Spanish
army from properly defending Spanish interests in The Netherlands. They were
motivated to do so because Dutch victories would have been good for their own
personal fortunes.
The film is magnificent in appearance. Much of it was filmed at the
spectacular Escorial itself, which is still in excellent condition. Indoor
scenes picture elegantly costumed courtiers, gilded halls and chapels, and
various luxurious quarters. The exterior camera shots picture lavish royal
coaches parting the crowds, or linger in exquisitely manicured courtyards
filled with ornate fountains. The action scenes feature the requisite flashing
blades, with lithe swordsmen leaping through crowds and toppling fruit stands.
Usual stuff.
The film received several Goya nominations relating to visual splendor: Makeup
and Hair, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costume Design. Unfortunately, a
beautiful appearance and a strong international cast are about the film's only
strengths. The actual historical events, which could make for a great film on
their own, often play second fiddle behind an unbelievable and trite
May/December love story, which seems to serve no purpose other than to make
work for the director's daughter. When the film does get down to
business, far too many scenes seem to consist of beady-eyed men stroking their
facial hair menacingly and droning away ad infinitum with verbose and stilted
dialogue which seems to have been written by Basil Exposition from those
Austin Powers movies. Despite the near-narrative dialogue, the story can be
difficult to follow at times because of some odd editing decisions.
There are two nude scenes.
- The first involves a
brothel orgy which shows that the Spanish of that era were a lot more
fun than anyone thinks. At least that's what I think it is supposed to
show. If not, it is gratuitous, since it has absolutely no purpose in the
plot or character development, and the dialogues in that locale could have
taken place anywhere. Not that there's anything wrong with adding a
gratuitous orgy.
- The other scene
features Julia Ormond as a proud noblewoman who is detained by the
king's order and is forced by the conditions of her arrest to change her
clothing in front of her captors. The actual nudity may (or may not, I
can't tell) have been performed by a body double, but there is a
preliminary view of a see-through blouse which is certainly worn by the
actress herself.
