Customer Reviews

Original Sin [VHS]

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Though "Original Sin" received coldest reviews from critics, I enjoyed watching it, and really love that film. We got gorgeous Angelina Jolie and sexy Antonio Banderas, and what do we expect more? Yes, the story is ridiculous, I admit, but the classic noir "Double Indenmity" has also a very far-fetched story that would easily match that of this film. Some point out that there already has been a French version of the story in "Mississipi Mermaid" directed by Truffaut, claiming "Original Sin" is just another Hollywood-made trash remake, but Truffaut's one is not among his best works in spite of two French icons Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Simply put, "Original Sin" is about love. Lots of love. The film is set in the 19th century, Cuba. Antonio made success with coffee trade, and receives a mail-ordered bride, Angelina. They soon marry, and love each other, but she suddenly disappears with all his money. Enraged Antonio traces her to Havana, where he finds out Angelina, now with a different beau. Instead of killing her, he loves her again. No, he makes love much, much, again. But she has a secret, for which she suffers.... Nothing should be said about the latter half of the film (which completely differs from Truffaut's rather somber version) except that the ever winding story goes like Mulholland Drive.

The suspense element is too thin and the whole storyline is too incredible to take seriously, but the film somehow succeeds on one level, that is, descriptions of illogically passionate love between two leads, whose emotions flare up with enough chemistry to convince that they (actors) really mean it. Antonio, first trying to take back money, soon decides to give everything; Angelina, first trying to deceive him, soon gives up herself. I don't know how American audiences reacted to this illogical behaviors -- some have said it's stupid, yes, I understand -- but I, a Japanese, somehow find myself drawn deeply into their emotional relations. After all, love is what makes people ridiculous, isn't it? If so, they are very credible, I believe.

Everyone would agree that the production design is fine, and costume (of Angelina Jolie, especially) is delightful to look at. (It was actually shot in Mexico; imagine wearing a suit there.) Good photography makes up for perhaps unnecessary plot twist at the end. Campy, you might say. But as a "Woman of Fate" Angelina Jolie is perfect, and I am not the only one who would give everything to her -- and you too, Billy Bob?

I loved this picture! In Germany it opened a week after "Tomb Raider" (so Angelina Jolie was one of the reasons I went to see it), and because it was praised as a love story, I took my girlfriend - and she also loved it! Jolie (more beautiful than ever in those costumes), Banderas and Thomas Jane ("Thursday") did a good job in their roles, but mostly the erotic and morbid atmosphere of Havanna during carneval was what made the movie so pleasent to watch. The story-twists were good, it was exelently shot - only the ending was a bit of a disapointment, simply because the director chose to lighten up the dark theme of the movie with a happy ending, which doesn't really fit into the flow. To sum it all up: This is not popcorn-cinema! It's a dark love story with great atmosphere! I fully recomend it, although it isn't a movie for all audiences...

This film should be up there on your need to watch list. It's a brilliantly casted and wonderfully scripted story of blind love. When Luis (Bandaras) meets his mail-order-bride Julia (Jolie) he is stunned at her beauty. She is nothing like he expected, yet he marries her immediatly. Luis is the perfect gentleman, and that makes Julia's next move even harder. Once she has gained Luis' trust she leaves him, taking him for every cent. Luis then, with the help of a P.I., decides he will find her, and kill her. The problem is that he still loves her. But does she love him? This film shows the dark side of love, the side that allows you to love someone you don't even know, but can feel, someone you connect with, someone that makes you whole. Jolie and Bandaras are spot on (especially with their clothes off...HOT HOT HOT) and they work wonders with this script. I have watched this film over and over and still can't get enough of it. The unrated version of this film offers a steamier and much more explicet love scene with movement and lots of nudity (no full frontal Bandaras shots though, you'll have to settle for quite a few butt shots) and it includes a few other sex scenes, less explicet, that were cut from the movie entirly. Either way you'll be pleasently pleased. The unrated version doesn't add anything new to the plot and or the flow of the film so pursue only if you're in dire need for a near-porn-like nude scene...otherwise, the theatrical version is just fine (and you still see quite a bit of nudity)...Great acting, great story, great bodies...what can I say but Great movie!

Please don't buy this film if you are a super film critic and wish to tear apart the weaker aspects of Original Sin. Buy this film if you love love and are fans of Antonio Bandaras and Angelina Jolie. It was quite a strech for these two blockbuster actors to do such intimatly nude scenes together, I have never seen either do nudity. They were beautiful together and sizzled the screen with their bedroom and tub love making. It was definatly an afternoon turn on to see these two great actors make love in such a realistic fashion it made me blush. Thomas Jane added more to the film with his bad boy good looks, these three actors were made to take their clothes off, they all had such awesome bodies, it was art on the screen. The plot was set in Havana, and shot in Mexico and you could really get a feel for the Spanish influence Antonio wore elegant panama suits and the wedding scene all the people wore beautiful panama draped white suits it really made you feel you were in Cuba, the shots of the cuban country side were rich with sensual colors and mexican people and planations were beautiful. The plot had many interesting twists to keep you intrigued. When I saw this movie I was extrmemly surprise that it didn't get a better box office review, but I am the kind of person that doesn't always like what everybody else does and this is one film I really loved.

This movie is absolutley Amazing... It has a Thrilling sexy, passionate and intriguing plot that's preformed beautifully. Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie are two of the sexiest actors in Hollywood and were cast wonerfully for the roles. The locations, sets and costumes were breathtaking. Everything was shot wonderfully from the scenes in the jail to passionate love making.
On the surface the movie, espically at the begining does seems simply like an excuse to get it's stars in bed together but looking further into the plot it becomes much more complex. Luis (Banderas) is not stupid but deeply passionate and completley taken in by love. Julia (Jolie) is Woman who finally gets to expeirience true love but has many things to over come, including her feelings of never being worthy of her husband. For her entire life she's been seen as nothing but a whore and her sadistic boyfriend, Billy, continuously makes that clear to her, hence her amazment at the begining of the movie when Luis agrees to not sleep with her until she's ready. Combine all those emotions with murder, betrayal, robbery, assault, sex, and non stop momentum and you have an recipe for a fantastic story.
The movie can get graphic considering that Julia/Bonny (Jolie) more often then not is in a sexual situtation. Even the most explicit scene is less "pornographic" then most music videos, due to the fact that it's clearly driven by love and passion not sex just for the sake of sex . (don't get me wrong it's highly graphic but not really "dirty") *Overall it's a great Thriller and a great perspective of how Dangerous, blinding and exciting love can be.

...I have seen this movie soooooooo many times. I havent got around to buying it yet but i do have it in Divx on my computer. I love it!
Wow, I can't believe how many bad reviews this film got all over the internet. I thought it was an absolutly beautiful, beautiful love story. Angelina is wonderful...

Angelina looked stunning. The costumes were oh so perfect. The dresses were beautiful. Antonio was looking mighty fine too.

The sex scenes were romantic, set oh so perfectly with the wonderful score that I adore, it's so beautiful (my favorite is the lovely, but short opening.)

I recommend this movie for any Angelina Jolie fan. She plays quite a different role in this movie compared to Tomb Raider (which was semi-okay, Angelina was the only true good part about it...SHOWER SCENE!) This is one of my favorite movies of all time, as are most the movies she was in like GIA, Mojave Moon, ect.

-Aya

This is the kind of favorite movie you have to sit down and plot out your reasons for liking. Otherwise, you might feel guilty, uncultured, hedonistic... So I choose to plot out MY reasons here, for your judgement.

First, the drawbacks. The plot. It's not all that plausible. It's filled with sweeping turns, and its twists are definitely full spirals. There's not much subtlety in it to speak of. But that didn't bother me as a viewer--after all, the premise is that a man gets a mail-order bride and spends the rest of his time trying to figure her out! How much reality does one logically expect from that? But the premise is intriguing, it's interesting, and most importantly, Jolie and Banderas never let that interest wane. Their performances are emotional and strong. At one point when I was watching the movie I paused and thought, "this is really stretching my suspension of belief," but no sooner did i think that than Jolie pulled out emotions that seemed so real and intense (Banderas closely following suit) that the entire situation was validated. That's what I think a good movie does--if it takes you out of the ordinary, fine, that's what entertainment does; but a good movie makes it real by showing you the people involved in the situation, and by understanding them you believe in and understand and forgive the implausibility of the situation. The movie explores the boundaries of fidelity, love, and honesty. I love it for that.

This is not Oscar-worthy, but it is, in my opinion, a very good film. The mood and the visuals are artistically consistent, and I respect movies that can do that.

Two things keep this from being an art film: the wild, fantasy plot, and the soft-porn-ishness of the sex scenes (very much a la Gia, which isn't surprising considering the director. I suspect that he just really likes seeing Angelina nude). But no matter how weird the plot, it's entertaining and (dare I say) thought provoking, and I can't think of many people who would mind the questionable taste of the sex between Angelina and Antonio.

The wardrobe's nice too.

The camera loves both Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas and it's exploited to the hilt in Michael Cristopher's "Original Sin" in which there is nothing much that is original or ground breaking. But like Cristopher's HBO, "Gia" Ms. Jolie's talents and attributes are much on display in "Original Sin." Is there a face in movies today that can tell a story as well as Jolie's or Banderas'? Banderas as Luis Vargas, a South American plantation owner, "orders" a mail bride, Julia Russel. Who lands, via Delaware but Ms. Jolie with not only trunk loads of clothes but also a trunk load of secrets. Banderas is looking for an heir not a mate, per se but Jolie has other things in mind i.e basically to win Banderas over and steal his money. But instead she falls in love with him...or does she? Cristopher sets up a portent tropical milieu filled with bananas, coffee and mosquito netting where the humidity and sexual attraction is so thick you could cut it with a knife. There are several plot twists that lead to deception and betrayal that require a lot of suspension of disbelief on the viewer's part to swallow and much of this works. Cristopher tries to do it all in the high style of the late 50's potboilers like "The Long Hot Summer" or "Written on the Wind" and almost succeeds. But hey with Jolie and Banderas as his actors he's got most of his work done with just a close-up and a twitch or a raised eywbrow on either of their faces. This movie is a HOOT and along the way you just may sweat and shiver along with the actors. Take a sweat rag with you to the theater...just in case.

I am really glad that I got the unrated version of this movie. It was worth the extra cost. I would put this at the top of my favorite Angelina Jolie movies list.

Hot Dawg! This one rocks!

MC White said: Check it out!

Being an Antonio Bandaras and Angelina Jolie fan this movie was right up my alley. What surprised me was how well it was done. It was a cliff hanger right up to point where a certain gentleman if I might call him that stepped in to influence Angelina. Anyone looking for a good mystery love story will throughly enjoy this movie.