Customer Reviews

La Celestina

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Don't buy this film, as the censor has blacked out certain parts.If films are being sold censored it should be made clear at point of purchase

LA CELESTINA was written in 1499 by Fernando de Rojas and is considered to be second only to Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE as the greatest work of Spanish literature. Here the novel is adapted for the screen by Rafael Azcona, Francisco Rico, and Gerardo Vera, the last contributor serving as director of this sadly uneven film. Despite boasting a cast of some of the finest actors in Spain, the dialogue is such a mishmash of old rhythms and contemporary expressions that much of the magic is lost.

But then the story is a bit on the 15th century wild side: a handsome young knight Calisto (Juan Diego Botto) is obsessively in love with the beautiful Melibea (Penélope Cruz) yet it takes the love potions of the bruja Celestina (Terele Pávez), enlisted by Calisto's conniving servant Sempronio (Nancho Novo), to effect the magic. Calisto's faithful and humble servant Pármeno (Jordi Mollà) fails in his attempts to block the spells delivered by Celestina but to no avail. Once the magic is in effect the worlds of each person fall apart. The human passions of love, greed, lust, revenge, and desire interplay in a manner that brings destruction in the path.

Made in 1996 before many of the actors involved became famous, the film 'looks' magical with radiant costumes and sets and spot on music. But the dialogue is clumsy, the English translations even clumsier, and the whole story fails to work its spell on the audience. Instead of a fiery climax the film just sort of fizzles. But it is interesting to see Penélope Cruz, Juan Diego Botto, Maribel Verdú, Jordi Mollà and Nancho Novo in their early stage of development. This is an escapist period piece that could have been so much better, but even in this state it is entertaining. Grady Harp, November 06

The American DVD was censored, the way they censored Wild on E!. Maybe the american moral is different from all others. How would americans censored a theatrical representation of La Celestina? Have they not see La Cestina in a Theater? Buy the Spain DVD PAL version. It is not censored, as it should be. It is a completely different experience.

In spite of minor issues related to censorship of nudity, which do not affect the plot, the cinematographic version of the play is excellent. Both the acting and the recreation of the atmosphere of the Spanish Barroque are major achievements of this film.

I read this book in college, and was interested in seeing the DVD. However, the movie took a very different turn from the book we read in Spanish in my college class. I am no Victorian prude, but I was a little shocked at the sex scenes in the movie.The beautiful love scenes we imagined in the reading of the book were cheapened and made seem dirty.

Before I began the review there is a subtitle feature available in english. The story begins with some rich guy that likes a chasity virgin from the roman-catholic church. She however, is ignoring him and brushing him off. So in a desperate attempt to have her he goes to this witch-lady, she cast a spell for him, he gets the girl. Be warned the "Not Rated" should be rated for sexual situations. You will see the witch's "daughters" are actually nothing more than prostitutes really(they sell themselves for gold), and there will be scenes of full-body exposure along with some sex. Anyway the old lady wants the reward that the guy said he was gonna give her, but he doesn't. So she curses him, he ends up killing her by two accompanying men, and the daughters are pissed off. To make things short "Celestina" is like romeo and juliet but with some sex and spell-casting involved in the plot. Not a happy ending.

The language in the film is great. My students will see the film and we have already read part of La celestina. Beautiful film but difficult to place in a screenplay. But yet excellent.

Cuesta creer que en pleno siglo 21 la censura o la editora o no se quien arruine una obra maestra como esta aplicando efectos de sombreado (blurring o como se llame) a varias escenas en donde son expuestas zonas intimas de los actores. Es matar la esencia misma de la obra que el director magistralmente las incluyo en el rodaje. Esta excelente version cinematografica de La Celestina donde la musica,los sets y la adaptacion de epoca la hacen una verdadera obra maestra y un deleite para los ojos no merecia un trato semejante. Espero que alguna vez sea editado un dvd NOT RATED para poder asi disfrutarla en su totalidad pero por el momento voy a seguir viendo mi version no alterada de la misma en vhs. Si los desnudos de la capilla sixtina fueron cubiertos en su momento por paños de colores por el pudor de la epoca y por estar en un lugar sacro no se aplica seguir haciendo lo mismo 500 años despues con las obras de arte,esto es el cine y estamos en el siglo 21. Es una verguenza.

As a graduate student with a keen interest in the masterpieces of medieval Spain and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Siglo de Oro as some call it), I was excited to only recently find this film in a local rental store. I rented it hoping to find a brilliant film adaptation of Fernando de Roja's work - only to be disappointed.
I have little to add to the review done by the gentleman Mr. Grady Harp. His review just about sums it up. The subtitles are not as accurately translated as they could have been but still tell the basic story line to the novel-in-dialogue. Also, the acting could have been of a higher calibur. Cruz's Melibea lacked the frustration and annoyance that Calsito is supposed to have caused her by his many approches and requests for her love. I would be disinclined to recommend this film to an undergraduate class for this reason and the one to follow...
I have commented over and over on film, that pornography is not only an unnecessary accessory to a movie of any kind but a complete waste of time and an avoidable element. The nudity of this film is so stark, shocking and literally "in your face" that the uneducated public would be questioning whether they were witnessing a medieval literary epic caught on film, or an adult porno made last week. Yes, some of the nudity is censored - but why include it at all when I have seen other film adaptations of this novel-in-dialogue and they have been just fine? The nudity did not need to be present nor did the poor directing.
I still enjoyed the fact that there are some who care to produce such a film and that there are still some who care about works of literary art published long ago. The soundtrack is absolutely wonderful and just the attempt and the music have caused me to be merciful in my review. I give this three stars.

Soy profesor en un colegio en NJ y mi clase de español IV está leyendo una versión corta de esta novela. Quería ponerles la versión filmada pero me parece que no vale la pena.