Mad Love

Juana, queen of Castile, is bound to her husband Felipe past all measure. Felipe is constantly unfaithful and does not trouble to hide it. Her jealousy becomes a political problem for the court: if the throne is hers and she cannot be controlled, power must pass to other hands. A woman's pain turns into a diagnosis, and the diagnosis into an instrument of government. Vicente Aranda approaches the figure history calls Juana the Mad through that naming itself. Madness here is not a medical condition but a label used to remove a woman who will not yield. He tells it as historical epic, with wide costume and large locations. Pilar López de Ayala plays Juana and Daniele Liotti plays Felipe. Who it's for: Viewers who like Spanish historical drama, costume period films, and rereadings of women in history. Who it's not for: Aranda gives the erotic scenes considerable room, and at points that choice gets in front of the historical argument. The telling also leans on melodrama.