'Goya's Ghosts'

"Goya's Ghosts" is Milos Forman's first film since 1999, but you sincerely wish it wasn't. A logy, rambling period piece, it feels about as far away from the spirit of "Amadeus" as it's possible to get with wigs and britches. Focusing only incidentally on its title character, the new film wanders distractedly around 19th century Spain in search of a cohesive idea, or failing that, a through line, but it doesn't come up with much beyond the hard-to-dispute observation that power is a gateway to hypocrisy.

By Carina Chocano

July 20, 2007