Don Juan DeMarco

Rating:
Summary: ROMANCE ROMANCE ROMANCE
Review: I watched this movie last night and one thing I know I did say is "I need to make my husband watch this movie." haha I don't watch that many romantic movies but I definately did enjoy this one. If you are looking to watch a classic romantic movie you definately need to watch this one. Oh, and Johnny Depp does an excellent job protraying Don Juan!

Rating:
Summary: Don Juan Done Wrong
Review: Don Juan DeMarco was delivered by a supreme group of successful artists: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway, including a cameo appearance from singer, Selena Perez. Yet, this movie failed, for me, to be the outstanding production that it could have been.

Marlon Brando (Dr. Jack Mickler) is a mental health therapist caught up in his own needs related to the twilight of his career and hum-drum, long time marriage. In some way, that is not tightly woven into the plot, Brando is re-energized by his counseling of Johnny Depp (Don Juan DeMarco)who believes that he is the world's greatest lover.

Faye Dunaway (Marilyn Mickler) then becomes a beneficiary of Don's sexual explotations as Dr. Jack over-identifies with some of the lover's behaviors and brings these new life fantasies into the Mickler's bedroom. The movie ends with the key characters positioned on the beach against an emerging sunset. It is to somehow represent a win-win victory. Don Juan is cured of his obsession with being the lover of all time, and the Mickler's have resolved their fear of losing a lifetime of being lovers.

Don Juan DeMarco was done all wrong--except for the casting. Direction was poor; filming and photography were lack luster, costume design was ho hum. Given the bonanza of artists involved, Don Juan was a waste of creative capital. The movie's director, Jeremy Leven had the human investments necessary for a jack pot production. Jeremy Leven had the intellectual cash in-hand...but blew it !!!

Rating:
Summary: A triumph of the imagination !
Review: An original and challenging script where a psychiatrist on the verge the retirement faces a man corporal , spiritual and mentally persuaded he is Don Juan the greatest lover in the world . But , through the days a transfer of this romantic passion occurs and in this clever exchange of opinions Don Octavio will be twice the bridesmaid fairy who will help him and engage with his fantastic illusion.
It is a real pity the insane have no right to speak about the madness of the normal persons . This Shakespeare works out to perfection in this smart film . The metaphor is cler . In an extremely rational world , Leuwen sets a handsome man in the middle of Queens to adopt a posture which in many cases reminds us to Alonso Quijano when he became Don Quixote . And what clever words of Franz Kafka in this sense when stated : The disgrace of Don Quixote is not his fantasy ; it is Sanho Panza .
Brando overwhelmnig as always and Depp amazing with Dunaway making a believable role .
There is always a little madness in the love ; but there is always la little reason in the madness .



Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies....
Review: Don Juan DeMarco is wonderful on so many levels. The first and most important is the outstanding acting. Johnny Depp sincerely presents his character as a real person without caricature (any lesser actor could not have pulled this off). He is so good he is the perfect match for the great Marlon Brando. Marlon Brando is as usual unbelievably good. Just the flick of an eyelid conveys so much. He adds almost imperceptible touches to make his character real. He and Johnny Depp interact seamlessly and plausibly. Their characters draw from one another's reality reaching an understanding that is spiritual and transcendent. Faye Dunaway is outstanding as Marlon Brando's wife - one has no difficulty believing they are a long-married couple. Because of the outstanding acting, all three interact so plausibly that they are able to move the fantasy into the realm of the real - "Why not?"

Rating:
Summary: THE REVIEW
Review: It was a very entertaining movie. The story line was enthralling and humorus. The whole cast gave a unforgettable show, that made this movie great. Johnny Depp was a very convincing Don Juan, and was perfect for the part. He gave this comedy life, believability, and *sparkle*. Marlon Brando's proformance added reality and familiarity to an otherwise unique film. I would watch it many times and never not laugh and be suprised!

Rating:
Summary: It sings? (sigh)
Review: There are 2 movies, other than The Godfather, Streetcar Named Desire and The Contender, for which I want to remember Marlon Brando: A Bedtime Story and Don Juan de Marco. How many comedies has he made? In Don Juan de Marco, I enjoyed watching him be part of an ensemble cast, which has never really been his modus operandi on other sets. As much as he derided acting as a profession, his performance in this movie seemed to argue that he still liked doing it.

It is a very funny, sexy flight of notions about fantasy and reality, much like Harvey starring Jimmy Stewart did decades ago. Johnny Depp, Brando, Faye Dunaway and company, to paraphrase a line from the movie, really have a way of putting the story in touch with what is real. With Mexican ballads and exotic settings, Don Juan is like a male Sheherazad, buying time and confounding the truth. As a lovesick worshipper of romance, he asks why we even bother to call it love any more in a modern world rushing past emotion for the carrots at the end of the stick in our lives.

Just an aside, in the commentary for The Usual Suspects, the director mentioned that, after the filming of a street scene, Gabriel Bryne and company heard that Don Juan de Marco was filming at a location near there. The whole set was reputed to be filled with nude women bathing. They all rushed over to check it out. I tell this story to my guy friends who are quick to dismiss it on the grounds that it is a chick flick. It got the Usual Suspects anecdote of approval. They might argue that all the beautiful nude and/or scantily clad women would have made them watch, but they are acting like Rocco, the male nurse in the hospital Ð I mean at Don Octavio de FloresÕ villa, and you know what happened to Rocco Ð if not watch this movie.

The people in the audience that saw it with me back in 1995 enjoyed it enough to not just applaud afterward but to come out chatting and politely flirting while filing out of the theater. The ushers standing by the exit mentioned that Don Juan de Marco Òthawed everybody outÓ in a way they had not seen by other movies. Watching it on DVD with friends can be just as fun. Muy romantica! (Dancing to one of the songs in the sound track Me Siento Loco, Poco a Poco Ð translation: I Feel Crazy, Little by Little.)