It's been said that the true opposite of love is not hate, but indifference; love and hate, passion and anger, are closely related emotions. This is certainly true with regard to the tumultuous life of Queen Juana of Castilla, known to history as "Juana la loca" (Juana the mad). The daughter of the famous Isabel of Castilla and Fernando of Aragón, Juana was married off sight unseen for diplomatic reasons; but the passionate young Juana instantly finds her new husband, the archduke Felipe, to be everything she could ask for. Unfortunately, it turns out to be dangerous for Juana to imagine an emotional reality rather than a political one behind the relationship, and her passionate nature leads her into more and more difficulty.

Why was Juana given the appellation of "the mad"? The film Mad Love (whose original Spanish title is in fact Juana la loca) centers around that very issue, but interestingly enough, without ever fully resolving it. Throughout the film the viewer is presented with the genuine question of whether Juana is a strongly emotional woman justifiably frustrated by an unsatisfying relationship and a culture that gives her no outlet for her feelings (or permits her to express them openly without censure), or whether she has genuinely slipped over the border into madness. This restraint makes Juana all the more interesting as a character study, since the film leaves it in the hands of the viewers to make their own judgment about her.

Pilar López de Ayala is completely convincing in the title role as Juana, and shows an amazing amount of dramatic depth in her portrayal of the queen's complex personality. López is able to show Juana one moment as a sweet, lovely young woman and the next moment as a woman who is frighteningly intense and vindictive... and it works. López carries off the difficult task of convincing us that Juana feels more than she can express; in one memorable scene Juana must deal with two difficult revelations (one of death, the other of betrayal), and is reduced to standing in the pouring rain, screaming and falling to her knees. But it doesn't come across as overly melodramatic, or in fact as melodramatic at all: we've already seen snatches of Juana's intensity, and here we see Juana feeling more than she can express, and struggling to express it anyway.

I'd consider Mad Love to be first and foremost a character study, but director Vicente Aranda certainly didn't stint when it came to making the film look right as a period piece. Set in the late 15th century, just after Queen Isabel of Castilla had sponsored Columbus' trips to the New World, the film has a convincing historical atmosphere to it. Parts of Mad Love were filmed in Portugal, but most of the important exteriors appear to have been filmed on location, in Castilla; the castle of Tordesillas where we see Juana at the opening and close of the film is, in fact, the real castle.

Yet despite the lovely sets and costumes, and the undeniably excellent performance by López, Mad Love somehow doesn't fulfill the expectations it raises; the story is interesting, but ultimately rather one-dimensional. The central conflict, between Juana's desires (both physical and emotional) and both her uncaring husband and the culture of the time that was ready to brand her as "crazy" for her feelings, is set up early in the film. The remainder of the story is merely an elaboration of the situation, showing how Juana is moved to feeling more and more desperate by her inability to rouse a shared passion in Felipe. While the character development is quite well done, the story circles on itself and doesn't move onto any new or deeper territory.

It's hard to put a finger on what's missing, but perhaps, in a nutshell, it's plot. We see very few of the consequences of Juana's self-absorption, and these only toward the end; likewise, the "family intrigue" angle of Felipe trying to gain a foothold as king of Castilla in his own right almost seems like an afterthought. Similarly, while it's mentioned (and shown) that Juana gave birth to several children, they vanish off-screen as soon as they're born; despite the importance that heirs would naturally play in any dynastic intrigues, the children are nonentities in the film.

Mad Love is structured as an extended flashback within a brief framing sequence of Juana as an old woman, in exile in the castle of Tordesillas. I think that the lack of a more powerful narrative in the film is shown most clearly in the effect of the closing half of the frame, which is to say, not a whole lot: when we see Juana again in her old age, it's with a significant sense of her passionate and unyielding personality, to be sure, but there's no sense of closure because there was really no particular story to wrap up. Mad Love ends up as an enjoyable and fairly polished film, but it doesn't quite reach the levels that it might have.

The DVD

Video

The anamorphic widescreen transfer of Mad Love, presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, is quite good, especially considering how poorly many foreign films are handled in their Region 1 releases. There are no major issues with the transfer, just an assortment of minor flaws. Some noise is visible in some scenes, particularly the open sky shots, but it's not apparent in other scenes; likewise, some scenes show heavy edge enhancement while others have only mild edge enhancement. The contrast is adequate most of the time, but in slightly challenging situations, such as a dark figure with a bright background, the detail is washed out into straight black.

The print appears in good condition, with no scratches or flaws appearing; colors are handled well, with the film's palette offering rich, robust colors in mostly darker tones. Another point distinctly in its favor is that the subtitles are optional. Viewers have the choice of English or French subtitles, or to view the film without subtitles.

Audio

The Spanish Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is excellent, offering a nicely immersive use of surround sound throughout the movie. Despite the movie's focus on character and dialogue, the soundtrack finds ways to create a detailed sound environment for the viewer, with things like the rattling of carriages or horses' hooves making good use of the side channels. The dialogue is nicely clear and always distinct.

One oddity with the dialogue is that it appears that some of the actors have been dubbed: as the film is a Spanish/Italian/Portuguese co-production, the non-Spanish actors seem to have said their lines in their native language, with the Spanish dubbed in afterwards. It's well done, though, and probably won't be noticed at all by most viewers; I'm mentioning it merely as a curiosity.

Mad Love offers removable English and French subtitles.

Extras

The only special features on the Mad Love DVD are several trailers for other Sony Pictures Classics DVDs.

Final thoughts

I admit that I was hoping for a true knockout in Mad Love; but though it's not a fantastic film, nonetheless it's a well done and enjoyable one. Pilar López de Ayala's performance as the troubled queen Juana is definitely the highlight of the film, which offers an interesting character study; enthusiasts of historically-themed films will also very much enjoy the recreation of 15th-century Spain here. The DVD has received a pleasing treatment in the video and audio departments, with a quality anamorphic widescreen transfer and excellent Dolby 5.1 sound; Mad Love is recommended.