costumes, pieces from soap opera, atmosphere, characters only as silhouettes. a film who could defined as beautiful but nothing more. its beauty remains at the first level and that does to be one of many historical movies useful only for remind an episode from the past of Spain . presented in large lines, the story of Juana has no soul. the actors seems be tired, the colors are the basic ingredient, the story seems be far by its interpreters. and seems far by the story of a queen because the roots of her gestures remains obscure. story of a woman like many others, captive of her jealousy, it is one of films who not gives more than small references about a generous subject.

an aesthetic delight. a fragile story. decent acting - not extraordinary but useful for suggest. a film of costumes and invitation to discover the real story of Juana. good intentions, a lot of colors and large oasis of ambiguity, influences of soap opera and few scenes who escapes from the sketch status of film. a beautiful movie. not profound, far to be original, but interesting for atmosphere recreation, for the performance of Giuliano Gemma , for hard work to convince of Pilar de Ayala and for the air of old rose. its sin - maybe the not great courage to do a more serious work. but that could be a detail. in fact, a charming image of a Spanish character. not serious, not profound, not extraordinary. only beautiful. and decent.

Another historical movie? But, this may be one you haven't heard of.It concerns Juana, daughter of Isabel, Queen of Castille, who is arranged to be married to Philippe of Flanders. The story, though told in flashback, captures you with its intensity of feelings. Ironically, she had an infatuation with a boy her age already (but beneath her station,) whom she had to leave behind. He reciprocated the feelings, but nothing had ever happened.Once she sees her future husband, she falls in love, as they instantly go to consummate their soon-to-be wedding. She finds out soon after their wedding, though, that he is a womanizer. She tries to hold on to her man throughout the whole film, and it is a struggle. Rather than rely on facts (perhaps their relationship had no important highlights), the movie delves into their lust and make this a very emotional and passionate experience. I did like it very much, as I prefer emotional, moody pieces to distant studies of people. But at some point it feels like "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," as they are in and out of bed constantly.On the whole, if you get a chance to see it, you'll be glad you did. But, be prepared to see more of their sheets than actual facts.

Juana de Loco is a film that questions if love above duty is more natural for a woman than a man. Easily answered if one is Elizabeth I, or Catherine the Great, however, Juana lets her lust for her husband overtake her sense of duty. The film has a rich and sensuous look in staging of 15th century Spanish courtlife, but beyond that, its revisionist take on the historical record is questionable. Although Queen, Juana is a victim of the males in the court who surround her. Her lack of control permits the manipulation of her husband to have her declared incompetent to rule. An ambitious husband who, although a beauty, is none the less not in the same league as his highborn wife, he strikes a deal with her father, and using her jealousy against her, gets the throne and free rein to bed whomever. Smart guy. He plays the man's game and gets the throne. Juana on the other hand, plays the game according to the rules for women and gets incarcerated for the remainder of her life. Career or love?Actor de Ayala is competent in her role, but lacks any depth in presentation of emotions beyond a shrewish suspicion. Her emotional response to finding her husband's disloyalty is rage, but as Ayala presents it, she is a 15 yr. old loosing her boyfriend. Ayala's seems also limited by her costar, who is stunning, but vacuous. He never goes beyond a one- dimensional disinterested stare. I'm sure this must mean he is smoldering and sexy, but if this is acting, give me Antonio Bandaras.