Customer Reviews

Monsignor Quixote [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On repeated watchings, this film reveals ever greater levels of complexity, and has become one of my very favorites. Both highly cerebral and deeply devotional, it probes a myriad of philosophical, political and theological questions through searching discussions between its two protagonists (the very sweet and holy Monsignor Quixote, played with obvious affection by Sir Alec Guinness, and his atheistic, communist pal Sancho, portrayed by wonderful veteran actor Leo McKern), and the adventures they encounter on their road trip through contemporary Spain. This film is so intelligent it's almost a miracle it was made at all. It's literate, sensitive and unapologetically religious (practically taboo in movies these days), all cradled in a lovely soundtrack which is at once playful and remarkably poignant. A high point here is an exquisite performance by a young Valentine Pelka as the haughty, steely-eyed Father Hererra, the replacement in whose heartlessness Quixote must leave his beloved little village in his absence. Pelka - a Shakespearean with a long list of film and stage credits - may be the greatest "unkown" actor alive. Do yourself a favor and view some of his other work, some of which is available through this site.

Monsignor Quixote the movie enchanted me when I saw it the first time. With each viewing I love it more. The characters wonderfully depict people we might meet in each of our lives. Sir Alec gives a beautiful performance of the innocent and devoted soul often hidden deep within us, while McKern depicts a more worldly, cynical and earthy person. But Monsignor Quixote's naivete contains kernels of wit and a practical humanity as well. Their friendship and dialog is touching and uplifting. This is a satisfyingly complex and intellectual story, but there are some very funny incidents too, in the gentle meandering of the tale, which keep me coming back again and again. (I wish it were also available on DVD, I am wearing out my vhs copy.)

Graham Greene's novel about a simple spanish priest in the countryside who finds himself surprisingly promoted to the rank of a monsingnore and his friendship to the communist mayor of his village is a masterpiece. Alec Guinnes and Leo McKern give live to this two elderly men, who are close friends despite of thei antagonistic view of politics. A marvellous, warmhearted movie, a highlight of the art of filming and acting.

Alec Guiness made a terrific movie from a terrific book by Graham Greene. Thoughtful, humorous, melancholy, and slightly cracked, the elderly Monsignor and his friend, an aging atheist ex-revolutionary, get lost in Spain while arguing about the finer points of theology and politics. A gentle and utterly moving story that addresses some not-so gentle aspects of life and history.

What else can I say? Alec Guiness and Leo McKern give great performances and are well supported by a good cast (and soundtrack) - a beautiful picture which explores many interesting ideas and has some terrific lines from a great author!

Graham Greene's novel about a simple spanish priest in the countryside who finds himself surprisingly promoted to the rank of a monsingnore and his friendship to the communist mayor of his village is a masterpiece. Alec Guinnes and Leo McKern give live to this two elderly men, who are close friends despite of thei antagonistic view of politics. A marvellous, warmhearted movie, a highlight of the art of filming and acting.

The sweet, intelligent story of a simple and pure village priest (Alec Guinness as Quixote) inconveniently promoted to monsignor through a twist of fate, and his communist ex-mayor friend/traveling companion (Leo McKern as Sancho). Their antogonists are post-Franco Spain (late 1970's) and to a greater degree, the formal bureaucracy within the Roman Catholic Church (don't worry, both God and the Church recieve due honor here - just not in the traditional formal manner).

A wonderful, wonderful film - as is the novel. I was struck by a quality of this film that is unique in my viewing experience concerning books adapted to film: Having read Graham Greene's novel not long ago, I still carried strong mental pictures of the scenes in the story. Watching the film last night, I was pleased and awed to find those same pictures uncannily reproduced on the screen. Credit to Greene for creating a world with words, and to director Rodney Bennett for faithfully interpreting it to the screen.

I'll refrain from retelling the story. Acting is superb by the entire cast, not the least of which is Guinness as the Monsignor. The wine-drinking enhanced dialogue is sublime. The Spanish scenery is a treat and well filmed.

A subtle film vs. book difference that I may have detected is that Sancho's character seems a bit stronger in the film, whereas Quixote seemed dominant in the book (perhaps that is my misinterpretation since the novel was written with focus on Quixote). I also noted clearly for the first time (though it was there all along for me to see in the book) the parallel in the story of the situations and behaviors of Monsignor Quixote, to the biblical record of Jesus . . . the fellowshipping "with winebibbers and sinners", the righteously violent treatment of the merchants of religion, the simultaneously simple and profound wisdom.

As another reviewer suggested, it's surprising that a movie of this nature can even be made anymore (maybe it can't, this film is more than 20 years old).

A closing note - As I've mentioned, much of the structured "religion" in this film is related to the Roman Catholic Church. However, one need not be Catholic to fully enjoy this. I'm not. Perhaps some aspects of this movie might even be a bit offensive to a certain flavor of Catholic. I hope not.

In it's niche, this is one of the best films ever produced. Should not be missed.

If you buy the VHS version you may risk wearing it out. The answer is to get the DVD version. But, for Region One and NTSC this seems to be the impossible dream. However, you will find a few copies of the DVD at Amazon.co.uk - as a Region TWO, PAL-encoded disk. For viewers in NTSC territory (e.g. USA), viewing the disk is a nightmare unless you are into all the technical issues, or purchase a region-free (or multi-region) DVD player that will convert PAL to NTSC. I've had good luck with the Philips players. I haven't tried a Sony player, but it seems that some of their players play multi-regions, but in any case require an external converter to turn a PAL signal into NTSC.

Many PAL TV sets will display an NTSC signal, but few if any NTSC sets will display a PAL-encoded signal, so be warned if you don't elect to get the right player. Fortunately, the Philips multi-region, converting, players are not very expensive.

A great book on screen. It is one of the rare magical events, when a film adaptation is as good as the original novel. The book was one of the best of Graham Greene's and it was filmed by direct supervision of the author and adviced by a key-figure: father Duran. If one needs key words, here they are: God, faith, friendship, moral, innocence. In spite of these heavy weight categories, the film is a light and moving entertainment: of the highest quality.

The movie is available on DVD, but it won't play on most DVD players purchased in the U.S. That is not because the discs won't fit or something like that, it's because the discs are coded to only operate on DVD players purchased in certain geographic regions. I had an old DVD player which you could set up to play DVD's from anywhere. I found out how to make the simple change by searching the internet. It required no soldering or such, it was simply a code that was entered into the player. Most players purchased in the U.S. now will let you make the change one time to a different geographical region, but you can't ever change it again - so if you changed it to European, you could not play U.S. released DVD's again. Of course, with DVD players selling for as little as $30, it's a not-so-expensive way of being able to play DVD's from another region.
Curious. No?