The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Country: GB/NL/GER/FR
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 122m
Director: Peter Greenaway
Cast: Julia Ormond, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Stone
Synopsis:
The court of Cosimo de' Medici watches the reenactment of an episode in the history of Macôn, wherein an extremely mature birth is taken as a sign of the lifting of the curse of barrenness inflicted on the town. The child's elder sister, however, lays claim to the (virgin) birth for financial gain, implicating the church which, ultimately, seals her fate.
Review:
What Greenaway termed his 'essay on pornography' seems to be more about the capacity of religious belief to be exploited (by Church and State, but woe betide you if you fancy trying your hand). The presentation is classic Greenaway alienation: play within play, tableaux, mostly medium long shot, arch archaic dialogue, the beauty of the finery and cinematography at odds with the content. The crowning irony is that the 'actors' appear to suffer the fates of their characters, making some point about history repeating itself perhaps.
Country: GB/NL/GER/FR
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 122m
Director: Peter Greenaway
Cast: Julia Ormond, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Stone
Synopsis:
The court of Cosimo de' Medici watches the reenactment of an episode in the history of Macôn, wherein an extremely mature birth is taken as a sign of the lifting of the curse of barrenness inflicted on the town. The child's elder sister, however, lays claim to the (virgin) birth for financial gain, implicating the church which, ultimately, seals her fate.
Review:
What Greenaway termed his 'essay on pornography' seems to be more about the capacity of religious belief to be exploited (by Church and State, but woe betide you if you fancy trying your hand). The presentation is classic Greenaway alienation: play within play, tableaux, mostly medium long shot, arch archaic dialogue, the beauty of the finery and cinematography at odds with the content. The crowning irony is that the 'actors' appear to suffer the fates of their characters, making some point about history repeating itself perhaps.
Country: GB/NL/GER/FR
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 122m
Director: Peter Greenaway
Cast: Julia Ormond, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Stone
Synopsis:
The court of Cosimo de' Medici watches the reenactment of an episode in the history of Macôn, wherein an extremely mature birth is taken as a sign of the lifting of the curse of barrenness inflicted on the town. The child's elder sister, however, lays claim to the (virgin) birth for financial gain, implicating the church which, ultimately, seals her fate.
Review:
What Greenaway termed his 'essay on pornography' seems to be more about the capacity of religious belief to be exploited (by Church and State, but woe betide you if you fancy trying your hand). The presentation is classic Greenaway alienation: play within play, tableaux, mostly medium long shot, arch archaic dialogue, the beauty of the finery and cinematography at odds with the content. The crowning irony is that the 'actors' appear to suffer the fates of their characters, making some point about history repeating itself perhaps.