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Goya's Ghosts

Play trailer Poster for Goya's Ghosts R 2006 1h 57m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
30% Tomatometer 86 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a member of the Spanish Inquisition, seeks to curry favor with the Inquisitor General by arresting the muse (Natalie Portman) of artist Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard). Lorenzo's plan backfires when the woman's father, a wealthy merchant, captures and tortures Lorenzo, and he must flee the wrath of his fellow Inquisitors.
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Goya's Ghosts

Goya's Ghosts

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Critics Consensus

Ornate costumes and a talented cast can't make up for Ghosts' glacial pace and confused plot.

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Critics Reviews

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Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle 08/10/2007
3/5
Goya's Ghosts uses the lives of artists and historical figures to show us the best and the worst of our human impulses. Go to Full Review
Richard Nilsen Arizona Republic 08/09/2007
3/5
It's a richly seen and felt movie, but not one with a feel-good message. Go to Full Review
Kirk Honeycutt The Hollywood Reporter 08/08/2007
A modern sensibility afflicts much of the screenplay, with characters expressing thoughts and opinions for our ears rather than acting as people of that era. Go to Full Review
Kaleem Aftab The List 11/03/2018
2/5
Aside from the waste of great talent, the real shame here is that a film that takes the great master's name could at least try to evoke the raw visual power of his paintings. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/19/2014
C+
A ridiculous biopic of the great Spanish artist. Go to Full Review
Cynthia Fuchs Common Sense Media 12/16/2010
3/5
Intense historical epic is for adults only. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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tony s Aug 29 A gripping story, excellent reproduction of Spain at the time, thoroughly enjoyable though very sad. See more thiago s @Thiagostone Jun 4 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom. See more Jelisije J Mar 29 One of those films where the themes and hidden messages of a film are treasured more than to actually tell a cohesive story.......a waste, a mess, and ultimately a disappointment. See more Alain E @AlainE Feb 4 ,After seeing the mostly negative reviews on the site my dilemma was, did Milos Forman and his spectacular cast screw up or the reviewers proved again that their contributions are background noise in order to get a paycheck. Since the movie is on offer in Tubi and I don’t hesitate to stop watching after five minutes if I am not satisfied, the choice was easy. The main protagonists perform extremely well. Special recognition for Natalie Portman who in the final segment appears twice, once as her original character, ugly and semi crazy after her prolonged imprisonment by the Inquisition and also as the estranged daughter she had while in jail, who grew to become a woman of ill repute. The main tragic character is played by Bardem who starts as a high standing member of the Church and then endorses the French Revolution and returns to Spain with the French new rulers of the Napoleonic era. When the tide turns and his life is in danger he is offered the choice to denounce his new ideas in exchange of his life. At that time he decides that he had changed enough positions for a lifetime. The final scene with his dead body on the cart could easily be a Goya painting. Goya is played credibly by Stellan Skarsgard and he acts as a witness and chronicler of the tumultuous period. The cinematography is first class. Despite the tragic events documented, the acting avoids melodramatic exaggerations. This was the final movie of Milos Forman who thus went out with a bang. See more annette Z 05/07/2024 Great acting - really hard to take movie See more Audra O 04/12/2024 I just watched it last night, in 2024. I hadn't expected to like it (1) because it's old, (2) because I'd never heard of it, (3) because when I see Natalie Portman my mind goes to her cringy performances in the Star Wars movies (even though I know that was bad writing), and (4) because, statistically speaking, most movies don't hold my interest. I'm giving this movie a 5 because, even though I can't say it was one of my favorite movies ever, I can't find fault with it. I thought it was very cleverly done, the acting was good, Goya's part in the whole thing was interesting, and fitting to the title. With the Inquisition being such a key part of this film, I think a lot of filmmakers would have included really graphic torture scenes. I was thankful that this film didn't overdo that aspect, and kept those scenes mostly to our imagination. See more Read all reviews
Goya's Ghosts

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Movie Info

Synopsis Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a member of the Spanish Inquisition, seeks to curry favor with the Inquisitor General by arresting the muse (Natalie Portman) of artist Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard). Lorenzo's plan backfires when the woman's father, a wealthy merchant, captures and tortures Lorenzo, and he must flee the wrath of his fellow Inquisitors.
Director
Milos Forman
Producer
Saul Zaentz
Screenwriter
Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière
Production Co
Kanzaman, Saul Zaentz Company, Xuxa Produções, Antena 3 Televisión
Rating
R (Nudity|Disturbing Images|Some Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jul 20, 2007
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.0M
Runtime
1h 57m
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