-Spoilers, i guess- Loved this film, but slightly puzzled / intrigued by one point. Who was Imanol Estevez, the guy who delivers Valerio to the monastery and calls himself Valerio's godfather? It's not the same actor that plays the devil, which was my first thought before I went back and checked. Is he supposed to be the devil in another guise? Some sort of paid stooge? Because he must be in on the deception somehow.
share*SPOILERS*
I was wondering the same thing. I also wondered about Ambrosio and Antonia being related (same mother), but they are so far apart in age--wouldn't they have different fathers?
Also, does Ambrosio realize that he has killed his mother when she utters his real name just before dying? It seemed like he did.
I liked the film's atmosphere and mystery but thought it could have been edited a little better to make it less confusing. The ending was also rushed after Ambrosio kills his mother. And some might not remember that Sergi Lopez was the penitent in the beginning of the film because he has so few scenes.
Still, the film was worth watching and kept me intrigued.
"And all the pieces matter" (The Wire)
In the book both Ambrosio and Antonia are related and are not that far apart in age. The film seems to suggest that they have the same father and that Antonia was born after her mother fled leaving her baby boy behind. I think we have to allow the film licence as the casting of Cassel would not have made the casting of Antonia easy. Cassel was excellent as Ambrosio; by turns passionate, sombre, inscrutable and cruel.
I think her uttering his name as she did was a signal to him, as well as the audience, that he wa sher son. His concern for Antonia that led him to sell his soul was because he cared for her as a sister.
The film did well with the source material and indeed much of it differs to the book. Given the book is over 400 pages it was never going to be easy to turn it into a film preserving its various plot strands. What the film maintains is the ease with which the innocent can be corrupted and how it is as easy to succumb to evil behaviour.
I'm not trying to break your heart,share
I'm just trying hard not to fall apart
In both the film and the book, the siblings are separated by about 15 years. Ambrosio is a little over 30 and Antonia is 15. Elvira, their mother had Antonia after she fled to the Indies.
shareI think her uttering his name as she did was a signal to him, as well as the audience, that he was her son.