You don't necessarily have to possess a background in art history to either understand or appreciate "Goya en Burdeos (Goya in Bordeaux)." But it certainly wouldn't hurt.
After all, this filmed biography does an adequate job of portraying the revolutionary Spanish artist Francisco de Goya as a flesh-and-blood person rather than a bigger-than-life one.
However, unless you're acquainted with Goya's storied personal history or his works, you may be lost amid some of the pretentious pontificating — or worse, you may not care enough to stick it out.
Those who do, however, will find it to be somewhat rewarding, if, at times, muddled and rambling. The film also manages to pay unique tribute to Goya with its beautiful set and production design, by Oscar-winner Pierre-Louis Thevenet ("Patton").
Filmmaker Carlos Saura also deserves credit for finding a creative way to look at Goya's life and career without having the movie turn into a boring history lesson.
As the film begins, the ailing octogenarian (played by the venerable Francisco Rabal, one of Luis Buuel's favorite collaborators) has been exiled to France, along with other liberal Spanish artists.
Perhaps sensing that his death is imminent, he tries to impart some wisdom to his youngest daughter, Rosario (Dafne Fernandez). So he begins describing to her some of the events and some of the people who most shaped his career.
They include Cayetana (Maribel Verdu), the beautiful duchess of Alba, with whom he was so obsessed that he destroyed at least one marriage and nearly ruined his own career. And then there was his fierce opposition to the Spanish government, which manifested itself through, arguably, his greatest series of works, "The Disasters of the War, 1810-14."
With considerable contributions from both Thevenet and Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro ("The Last Emperor" and "Apocalypse Now," among many others), Saura has created a series of moving paintings that eerily resemble several of Goya's most famous works.
These wonderful set pieces not only illustrate Goya's brilliance but also help the film stay interesting when it verges on becoming a bore. (Other filmmakers, including both Ken Russell and Peter Greenaway, have done similar things, but their attempts haven't been quite as successful.)
Thankfully, Saura also gets a strong lead performance out of Rabal, who makes Goya seem warm and engaging, if eccentric. Nearly as good is Jose Coronado, who plays the younger version of Goya.
"Goya en Burdeos (Goya in Bordeaux)" is rated R for violence (gunfire and violent imagery), full female nudity (as well as glimpses of nude artwork), gore (both human and animal), a brief sex scene and some crude sex talk. Running time: 102 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com