Thoughts and Dreams in ‘Goya in Bordeaux’

Carlos Saura’s superb, contemplative “Goya in Bordeaux” imagines the great painter (Francisco Rabal), at 82, recalling key events in his tumultuous life to the youngest of his daughters (Daphne Fernandez), who looks to be a young teenager. So much for the conventions of film biography, for this framing narrative is but a point of entry for Saura into Goya’s mind and imagination as his thoughts wander between memories and dreams.

This adds a stunning, surreal dimension to the film and a glorious free-flowing quality that allows Saura and incomparable cinematographer Vittorio Storaro to bring to life a number of Goya’s greatest paintings--most spectacularly, “The Disasters of the War, 1810-14,” as the artist remembers the events and individuals that inspired them.

That ancient, oft-quoted Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times,” applies to Goya (1746-1828) with particular force. He survived the imperial decline of Spain spanning four controversial monarchies, the country’s invasion by France under the leadership of Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte, and Spain’s struggle for independence.

Goya saw all this tumult and suffering as a struggle between the forces of light and dark--between the Age of Enlightenment and that of the Inquisition. Eventually, he and other liberals saw no recourse but exile, and Goya was part of such a group that settled in Bordeaux, where he said he missed only his Madrid villa.

Through the fragments of his memories we find the ambitious Goya (Jose Coronado, in his younger years) determined to become the portrait painter of choice in the royal court and beyond--and a lady-killer in the process. He’s eventually transformed by the loss of his hearing at 46, the terrible fate of his greatest love, the beautiful and free-spirited Duchess of Alba (Maribel Verdu), and the savage and bloody chaos that overcame Spain itself.

Goya moved from painter of the richest and most powerful to chronicler of the horrendous suffering of the people. In exile he turned to engraving, determined to persist with his art despite the ravages of age.

And what ravages! If you did not know, you would never guess that the great Spanish actor Rabal, a Bunuel favorite, was once as handsome and dashing as Errol Flynn. Grown stout, his otherwise bald pate framed by an aureole of white hair, his face mottled and doughy, Rabal is perfect casting for a libertine from whom tragedy and passing time have exacted a brutal toll.

Yet the dark eyes retain their fire, the deep voice its richness and strength. Rabal has become wondrous at playing wrecks who have not lost their passion, spirit or dignity, retaining a presence that is commanding still. Surely, this film is as much a homage to Rabal as it is to Goya.

“Rembrandt, Velazquez and Imagination!” thunders Goya, citing his gods. “Goya in Bordeaux” is itself a portrait of the artist as a Renaissance man, learned, appreciative of his predecessors in a brilliantly perceptive manner and ultimately committed to placing his boldly critical and innovative art in the service of change.

You can see the universal aging artist in the particulars of Goya’s creative credo and his life and times--his impassioned outbursts, the curse of escalating infirmities, the losses and regrets painfully recalled and the spontaneous gestures of kindness and caring.

* MPAA rating: R, for some sexuality and violent images. Times guidelines: some scenes of nudity and sensuality, depiction of the brutal aftermath of battle.

‘Goya in Bordeaux’

Francisco Rabal: Goya

Jose Coronado: Goya in his younger years

Daphne Fernandez: Rosario

Maribel Verdu: Duchess of Alba

A Sony Pictures Classics release. Writer-director Carlos Saura. Producer Andres Vincent Gomez. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. Editor Julia Juaniz. Music Roque Ban~os. Costumes Pedro Moreno. Production designer Pierre-Louis Thevenet. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes.

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