Film Review: Juana La Loca

How “Mad” is “Juana la Loca?”
By Rianne Hill Soriano

While in the midst of watching films in the theaters in hot and burning days as this summer, ironically, it is sometimes cool to watch some art films rented in reputable video stores that offer a wide variety of films (from B-movies to art films). And for a change, I am giving you a film review of the 2001 Spanish film Juana la Loca (Joan the Mad). After reading this, you might want to check it out at your favorite video store…

History as a subject for movies intrigues filmmakers, writers and producers. For big budgeted features, it’s a great opportunity for lavish costumes, scenery, violence and romance. Notice the epic myths and stories and their characters ranging from LOTR and Troy, to Elizabeth and Alexander; include here the subgenre specializing with the intrigues of the royal courts as based and inspired by history. Most of these films may not be an accurate portrayal of historical events (safe to say, liberties can be taken for dramatic or poetic license), but it's still worth seeing. And with Juana la Loca, the movie gives a realistic idea of what life has been like in the 15th to 16th century Spain.

The viewer gets an intimate look at life as a female member of a royal family during those times. The film begins with a scene of an aged Queen Juana (María Jesús Valdés) who in the year 1555 still feels the grief and sadness as she has been imprisoned in a Spanish castle for nearly fifty years. The next scene is in 1496, when Castile's reigning Queen Isabel (Susi Sánchez), also known as Christopher Columbus' benefactor, tries to calm her nervous seventeen-year-old daughter Juana (Pilar López de Ayala), who is about to get married to Archduke Philip of Flanders. As a young girl sent for an arranged marriage to strengthen the family's political ties, she is separated from her family and forced to live in a foreign land.

As a brief historical overview, Juana is the eldest daughter of Isabel de Castilla and Fernando de Aragón, historically known as `Los Reyes Católicos', whose youngest sister, Catalina (Catherine of Aragón) was to end up headless following her marriage to Henry VIII, king of
England. In the film, Juana of Castile and Archduke Philip of Flanders (Daniele Liotti), otherwise known as `Felipe el Hermoso' (Philip the beautiful), heir to the Holy Roman Empire which consisted of Germany, Flanders (today being part of the Netherlands) and northern Italy, are infatuated at first sight and marry without ceremony. And they instantly go to bed a few minutes after laying eyes on each other. Juana learns she likes sex a lot. Her love for Philip becomes consuming and obsessive. She begins bearing him children in rapid succession. Meanwhile Philip goes far beyond his supposed hunting adventures. It is actually a disguise to his Infidelity. And political power becomes his major concern.

The locations and sets are vast and ornate. The costumes are richly detailed. Its presentation of 16th century Europe is grainy and realistic. The cinematography benefits greatly from the details of the production design which doesn’t fall into the temptations of “too much lavishness” with the concept of a period film. It remains unstylized and valid. It was visually powerful without being technically self-indulgent. Blacks are dense and rich with good shadow detail. It has many warm and dark, candlelit interiors which is in par with the treatment and story.
Juana’s love for Philip is entirely physical and sexual. The young Juana and Philip have a week-long honeymoon/sex marathon. And since then, she turns into his slave. Philip's manhood becomes the instrument for her misery. Juana is a victim of the males in the court who surround her. Philip, a complete womanizer, plays the man's game while she plays the game according to the “rules for women” who has been far too repressed, suppressed and oppressed during those times. Her ambitious husband who strikes a deal with her father King Ferdinand of Aragón, uses her jealousy against her. Along with the treachery of her unscrupulous father, Philip gets the throne, free to bed whoever he desires; while Juana’s lack of control permits the manipulation of her husband to have her declared incompetent to rule. She is declared mad and forced into incarceration.

Aixa, a Moorish King’s daughter, Philip’s favorite mistress, and later on, one of Juana’s ladies-in-waiting disguised with the Spanish name Beatrix, gives a disease to Philip. This is covered up until he is on his deathbed. Philip's principal aide De Vere (Giuliano Gemma) plots to have Juana declared insane so the throne can pass to Philip before his death to enable them control
Castile. As the Castilian nobles fail to get the queen into political action, they then realize that Juana is indeed unfit to govern. However, before she is incarcerated, Philip dies at the age of twenty-eight. Juana ends up confined at the isolated fortress of Tordesillas for the rest of her life.

In this film, Juana’s psychological landscape is left unexplored in favor of her purely sexual motivations. The overall treatment given to her can probably label her a ‘nymphomaniac.’ She persists in wanting her husband’s body as if she were a twenty-first century liberated woman.
Her husband, her father and most of the characters are depicted not too favorably. They are given considerably black and negative characters. No much gray characters are seen. Even with Juana, she is portrayed as nothing more than an obsessed woman who likes having sex with her husband. In fact, there is no much scene of her interacting with her children or conducting her responsibility as queen. She becomes emotionally unstable as even the aged Juana seen at the closing scene of the film laments for Philip to the point of saying that she even misses the smell of his armpits.

The film fails to develop the political climate of the time. I believe it could have been more appealing if even a slightly more detail is given further so as to satisfy some conscious or unconscious questions in the minds of the viewers who are not familiar enough with the historical background of that time. It spends a bit too much time on dwelling on Juana’s jealousy and obsessions.

Pilar López De Ayala as Juana is the best thing in the film. Her acting is superb and she is most fitting for the role. Daniele Liotti's characterization of Philip, a man endowed with the looks and the sexual prowess, is valid. But the character he plays features a dull and selfish royalty who can only be identified with that sexual, sometimes disinterested, and sometimes treacherous stare. He is effective enough for the ensemble, but he could have served a better purpose if a little more color has been added to his character.

It is unlikely that even though the film takes place over 10 years, the roles, in all aspects, don't mature at all. For this, the characters lack further depth. And they are nailed to those same characterizations from start to end. It becomes inane and one-dimensional.
Juana la Loca skips to indulge with the mostly expected fight and battle scenes as with the usual medieval eras and royalty scenes captured in film. It is more character-oriented. Juana lets her lust for her husband overtake her sense of duty. The film has a rich and sensuous look in staging that century’s Spanish courtlife. It combines fact with fiction, history with histrionics. In dark hues, the scenery is almost entirely interiors of the palaces with high production values.
Looking into Juana’s sexual character, is she really "mad" or is she just “sexually liberated?” Putting this issue of the film in the present state of affairs, we are left with the distinct impression that Juana has been neurotically obsessed by love, but not insane by current standards. And so, the film serves to redeem her reputation as somebody who is ‘crazy.’ The film suggests that her "madness" is that she has just been a woman ahead of her era’s standards. Personally, I would say it is more of obsession, not being mad or crazy, for that matter.

As a controversial and a beautifully filmed period film, the main actress’ effective interpretation of Juana’s extreme emotions, full of intensity and conviction, and the minor flaws in the treatment and certain plotpoints, I will rate the film 3.5 out of 5.

Now, the new issues to follow: Heart vs. mind? Responsibility vs. personal needs? Love vs. career? These are a few significant issues we can confront based from the film’s own issues of its time which we can very much connect with in this present time’s own issues and queries. We provide the answers.