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Triumph of Love
Paramount // PG-13 // October 29, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A light and somewhat charming period comedy, "Triumph of Love" still starts to wear out its welcome a bit towards the last quarter of its nearly two-hour running time. Adapted from Pierre Marivaux's play "Le Triomphe de L'Amour," "Triumph Of Love" stars Mira Sorvino as a princess who falls for Agis (Jay Rodan). When she finds that she'll have to pass Hermocrates (Ben Kingsley), a philosopher and his scientist sister, Leontine (Fiona Shaw) to get to him, due to their theory that women will lead Agis astray, the princess and her aide (Rachael Stirling) dress up as men to gain access and trust in the house.
"Triumph" does boast some fine acting. Although Sorvino seems to be continuing to play her "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" character in the opening, she quickly starts to get into the role and play it with more grace and wit. Sorvino's on-screen for the entire movie and it's up to her to carry it, a task that she handles admirably. The only strange decision is that there's not much of an attempt here to disguise Sorvino's character as a man when the character is supposed to have disguised herself as one. While it likely would have been obvious either way, it's a little more confusing and odd (not to mention unbelievable for some of the characters to buy into the fact that she's a man) to have her be so obviously a woman. Shaw and Kingsley provide sharp supporting performances, but Stirling provides some of the funnier lines with marvelous delivery.
Still, given the rather slight nature of the story and occasional examples of bad judgement (occasionally, the film cuts to a modern audience watching the proceedings - it's a "play within a play", which wasn't that necessary), the film starts to get a little tedious. However, whenever this film did start to fall into a dull or predictable stretch, there was always the incredible locations to look at in the background. Tuscany often looks so breathtaking that the film appears to be more costly than its $5m budget would suggest.
"Triumph Of Love" certainly had fun moments, especially when Sorvino turns up the charm to scheme her way into the house. Yet, the pacing is off and while the film is certainly spirited, it also wanders a bit too much while getting to the point. While certainly not a failure - Sorvino's performance is a surprising highlight - it's just not quite a triumph of a picture, either.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount presents "Triumph of Love" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The film's cinematography is generally along the lines of Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty": rich lighting, beautifully saturated and almost golden colors and a slightly soft appearance. The film's locations - it was shot in Tuscany, Italy - also serve to make for a really attractive looking film. Paramount's presentation generally captures the film's visuals well, although there were a few minor concerns about the transfer at times. Sharpness and detail seemed accurate to the intentions of the filmmakers; while there was an ever-so-slightly soft quality to the image, detail still remained pleasant and occasionally, quite good.
Some flaws did appear throughout the presentation. A minor amount of edge enhancement was noticed in a few scenes, but it was minimal enough to not be bothersome. Some light artifacts were also spotted in a few of the film's more dimly-lit moments, as well. On a positive note, the print seemed clean and crisp, aside from a speck or two and some slight grain. Colors remained warm and inviting, if the tiniest bit over-saturated at times.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack mainly serves to highlight composer Jason Osborn's quick, light classical score. The score comes through sounding crisp and clear, although there's really little reinforcement of it by the surrounds. In fact, the surrounds don't have much to do at all here, nor did I expect them to provide more than a bit of subtle ambience in a film like this one. Overall, a nice soundtrack if not a remarkable one.
MENUS: The menus are basic and non-animated, with film-themed images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: "Triumph of Love" is a well-acted, but rather thin romantic period comedy whose best element is Sorvino's fine performance. Paramount's DVD provides a respectable presentation, but the list price is too high ($29.99) and the lack of supplements make this a rental.
A light and somewhat charming period comedy, "Triumph of Love" still starts to wear out its welcome a bit towards the last quarter of its nearly two-hour running time. Adapted from Pierre Marivaux's play "Le Triomphe de L'Amour," "Triumph Of Love" stars Mira Sorvino as a princess who falls for Agis (Jay Rodan). When she finds that she'll have to pass Hermocrates (Ben Kingsley), a philosopher and his scientist sister, Leontine (Fiona Shaw) to get to him, due to their theory that women will lead Agis astray, the princess and her aide (Rachael Stirling) dress up as men to gain access and trust in the house.
"Triumph" does boast some fine acting. Although Sorvino seems to be continuing to play her "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" character in the opening, she quickly starts to get into the role and play it with more grace and wit. Sorvino's on-screen for the entire movie and it's up to her to carry it, a task that she handles admirably. The only strange decision is that there's not much of an attempt here to disguise Sorvino's character as a man when the character is supposed to have disguised herself as one. While it likely would have been obvious either way, it's a little more confusing and odd (not to mention unbelievable for some of the characters to buy into the fact that she's a man) to have her be so obviously a woman. Shaw and Kingsley provide sharp supporting performances, but Stirling provides some of the funnier lines with marvelous delivery.
Still, given the rather slight nature of the story and occasional examples of bad judgement (occasionally, the film cuts to a modern audience watching the proceedings - it's a "play within a play", which wasn't that necessary), the film starts to get a little tedious. However, whenever this film did start to fall into a dull or predictable stretch, there was always the incredible locations to look at in the background. Tuscany often looks so breathtaking that the film appears to be more costly than its $5m budget would suggest.
"Triumph Of Love" certainly had fun moments, especially when Sorvino turns up the charm to scheme her way into the house. Yet, the pacing is off and while the film is certainly spirited, it also wanders a bit too much while getting to the point. While certainly not a failure - Sorvino's performance is a surprising highlight - it's just not quite a triumph of a picture, either.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount presents "Triumph of Love" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The film's cinematography is generally along the lines of Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty": rich lighting, beautifully saturated and almost golden colors and a slightly soft appearance. The film's locations - it was shot in Tuscany, Italy - also serve to make for a really attractive looking film. Paramount's presentation generally captures the film's visuals well, although there were a few minor concerns about the transfer at times. Sharpness and detail seemed accurate to the intentions of the filmmakers; while there was an ever-so-slightly soft quality to the image, detail still remained pleasant and occasionally, quite good.
Some flaws did appear throughout the presentation. A minor amount of edge enhancement was noticed in a few scenes, but it was minimal enough to not be bothersome. Some light artifacts were also spotted in a few of the film's more dimly-lit moments, as well. On a positive note, the print seemed clean and crisp, aside from a speck or two and some slight grain. Colors remained warm and inviting, if the tiniest bit over-saturated at times.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack mainly serves to highlight composer Jason Osborn's quick, light classical score. The score comes through sounding crisp and clear, although there's really little reinforcement of it by the surrounds. In fact, the surrounds don't have much to do at all here, nor did I expect them to provide more than a bit of subtle ambience in a film like this one. Overall, a nice soundtrack if not a remarkable one.
MENUS: The menus are basic and non-animated, with film-themed images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: "Triumph of Love" is a well-acted, but rather thin romantic period comedy whose best element is Sorvino's fine performance. Paramount's DVD provides a respectable presentation, but the list price is too high ($29.99) and the lack of supplements make this a rental.
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