Mad Love or Juana la Loca is a movie based on a true to life story about love, faithfulness, infidelity, and also a glimpse on the political background of Spain during that time. This character-driven movie focuses on the life of Juana of Castile and her life after her fixed marriage.
The story begins in a castle where the old Juana was reminiscing and longing for her late husband, Philip. The flashback begins when Juana was already travelling to meet his soon to be husband whom she never even had a glimpse on. This fixed marriage was part of their tradition as a royal family to strengthen their political bond to Flanders. On their first meeting, the two easily fell for each other because of their physical beauties. Juana, on the other hand, became more and more in love with his husband not just because of its good looks but also of its expertise in bed and also, maybe because Juana was so emotionally dependent. This love for her husband grew stronger to the point that she became obsessed with him. Unfortunately, her husband easily fell out of love to her wife and started to become unfaithful to her. Unfortunate events continued to happen to the princess, her sibling and her mother died and to make things worse, that was also the time when she caught her husband having an affair with one of her court ladies, Ines. Hence, Juana’s undeniable insanity. But eventually, Philip’s unfaithfulness to his wife somehow leads to his own death. Of all the things that Philip did to her wife, Juana’s love for Philip still prevailed and forgave his husband.
Pilar de Ayala who portrayed the role of Juana did a great job. Through her acting, we also felt the emotions that she was trying to convey – love, jealousy, anger, and even lust. Based from what I’ve read from various sites, Pilar’s acting became a huge help in the success of the film. Truly, Pilar de Ayala deserves the best actress award that she gained in this film. On the other hand, Daniele Liotti who portrayed the role of Philip was not that convincing. When he and Pilar have scenes where they have to argue, Daniele’s emotions were not that evident. But I guess he still did a good job in making the viewers mad. Even though the year or era when the events took place was not mentioned, it was still evident that the setting of such film was during the time when Queens and Kings rule. This is all because of the wardrobe, the make ups, and the places the shoot took place.
One of the symbolisms of the film was the long reddish hair of Ines. When Juana cut her hair short, she was really upset, maybe because long hair somehow symbolizes beauty for them. It is evident in the movie that most of the ladies, especially the queen, during that time had a long and beautiful hair. Red nipples also symbolized beauty for them, especially for men. There was a time when Juana’s friend and confidant, Elvira, said that she would paint Juana’s nipples red so that the king would be more attracted. There was also a scene where the court ladies were painting Ines’ nipples red. Black dress also symbolized grief in the movie. When Juana’s mother died, she was seen wearing black dress. Additionally, Juana was seen playing a small top which symbolized her friendship with Captain Alvar de Estuniga. It is said that they were friends since childhood. And lastly, one of the symbolisms in the movie was when Juana spread her legs whole heartedly which somehow symbolized Juana’s lust, that even if she was pregnant she still wants to have sex with her husband just to fulfil her pleasures.
Generally speaking, the film was great and a must watch. And also, unlike others, it’s not just a typical historic movie. Its story was great for it emphasized the power of karma. Furthermore, the thing that also made it unique, this movie was based on a true story, a story that would prove to us that there are really people who would do and give everything just for the sake of love.
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