THE CONVENT
(O CONVENTO)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): 1/2
Director Manoel De Oliveira's THE CONVENT (O CONVENTO) is the one of those artistic film that tries so hard to be artsy that it loses all touch with reality and with what makes an enjoyable film in the first place. The director does do something right. He hires two excellent leads, Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich. He then makes a really bad decision and hires himself to write the script which is on silly side of ridiculous and the lines are preposterous.
The plot is that an American professor Michael Padovic (John Malkovich) and his French wife Helene (Catherine Deneuve) go to the Portuguese convent of Arrabida to find the proof of Professor Padovic's radical theory that William Shakespeare was not British. The good professor has tentative evidence that Shakespeare was of Spanish and Jewish ancestry. At the convent he believes he will uncover conclusive proof that his theory is valid, and he will be forever famous in the literary field.
Once there they meet some creepy people including Luis Miguel Cintra as Baltar, Heloisa Miranda as Berta, and Leonor Silveira as Piedade. As the story meanders along, the audience wonders where it is going and why, and what is the point of it all. I could waste your time with more details of the story, but trust me, you don't want to know them.
The acting by even the brilliant leads is mediocre at best. The director's pacing is atrocious. Scenes drag by at a glacial speed. The editing (Manoel De Oliveira and Valerie Loiseleux) has no sense of timing. The cinematography (Mario Barroso) looks like many of the scenes were filmed with the back of the camera open so that light pollution almost ruined the film. I am sure this did not happen so why so many scenes are so washed out as to be almost unwatchable is something I could never figure out.
The worst part of movie has to be the music (Sofia Gubaidulina, Toshiro Mayuzumi, and Igor Stravinsky). It is so overscored and loud at inappropriate moments that it seems to be a caricature of a bad musical score.
Is there anything good in this mess of a movie? Only one. Catherine Deneuve, now in her 50s, proves that real beauty is eternal.
THE CONVENT runs only 1:30, but it will seem like a life sentence. It is mainly in English, but when other languages are used there are English subtitles. It is not rated, but who cares since people of all ages should avoid this bomb. I give it 1/2 of a star only for Deneuve's everlasting radiance.
**** = 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.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: June 17, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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