BELLE EPOQUE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
BELLE EPOQUE is the movie from Spain that won the Academy Award for best foreign picture. It is a delightful light hearted romance.
The story is the classic one of the old man with beautiful young daughters who is each in turn romanced by a handsome young stranger who befriends the father. In this retelling, the old man (Fernando Fernan Gomez) is a painter who has long since given up painting. When the young man (Jorge Sanz) deserts from the army, he is aided by the painter . This is Spain during the 30s revolution, and there are mass desertions. The young man in turn aids the painter by reading him to sleep and being his companion for a short while.
The fun starts when the four beautiful young daughters (Penelope Cruz, Maribel Verdu, Ariadna Gil, and Miriam Diaz-Aroca) return home. He falls in love with them sequentially, and they in him - some more than others. It is a romantic tale that makes you fall in love with romance itself and certainly, depending on your sex, with the handsome actor and strikingly beautiful and wholesome actresses. There is even a love scene for people in their 60s and 70s. Also, one of the girls was raised as a boy and does a lot of cross-dressing, but mainly this is pretty straight romantic stuff.
The movie was filmed in the Spanish countryside. The cinematography (Jose Luis Alcaine) could easily win awards for its bright earthen colors, and its sharp facial close-ups. The picture of all of the girls looking out the window to wave to their mother would make a great still to blowup and mount on your wall.
On the negative side, there is not a lot here. The directing by Fernando Trueba was to focus on mood over character development. The script by Rafael Azcona, Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez, and Fernando Trueba had few memorable parts. BELLE EPOQUE is more images than substance. Ah, but they are wonderful images. Very evocative and romantic. I did not like the ending, but it was not essential to the enjoyment of the movie.
BELLE EPOQUE is in Spanish with English subtitles. I suppose I should give it more, but there was only enough here to have me rate it ** 1/2. I do recommend seeing it. It has very much the overall feel of SIRENS (***), but it is not as good. The movie runs 1:48 and is rated R (but could have almost gotten a PG-13 I think). Certainly the movie is fine for teenagers.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: June 14, 1994
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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