Rating: 
Summary: bore, bored and boring
Review: i just can't finish it. the whole thing just looked like a pretentious staged farce. the dialogue would drive you crazy. why the screenplay had to be like this is beyond my reach. so unnatural, so pretentious. it's just like sit in a small theatre, watching several figures using exaggerated dialogues to convey the very untrue feelings. i just can't finish it. sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Give It a Pass and Be Glad You Did
Review: I rented this DVD because I wanted to watch a romantic comedy and I love period pieces. Thank goodness, I didn't buy it. Although it is a period piece (albeit not a good one), it's certainly not a romantic comedy, though it does aspire to be.THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE is based on a play written by Marivaux during the eighteenth century. Although playgoers during the eighteenth century might have tolerated something as simplistic as THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE, I think twenty-first century film aficionados usually demand more. I hesitate to even mention anything about the plot of THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE because it's certainly not going to sound as trite and simplistic as it really is. Believe me, the plot is thin, very thin. In fact, if the plot of the film were much thinner, it would cease to exist altogether. A terribly cast Mira Sorvino plays the Princess of the Realm, but she has one huge problem-she's not the rightful heir. The Realm really belongs to Prince Agis (Jay Rodan), the son of the man the Princess's father killed. Although this may seem like the Princess's biggest problem, it really isn't. She's fallen desperately, madly and hopelessly in love with Agis, but...he can't stand women. Well, the Princess has an answer to that little dilemma, or so she thinks. She simply disguises herself as man (much like Gwyneth Paltrow did in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, but far less convincingly) and gains access to Prince Agis's palace (an Italian villa, really) and to him. While he buys her "mannish" behavior, his benefactor, the philosopher, Hermocrates (Ben Kingsley) and his dour sister, Leontine (Fiona Shaw) do not, but for far different reasons. Hermocrates can see immediately that the Princess is a woman despite her manly attire (really, one would have to be blind not to see it) but Leontine, in what might be the film's only comedic moment, still believes she's a man and, predictably, falls in love with the Princess, herself. A very thin plot isn't the only thing wrong with this film by far. Director Clare Peploe (wife of Bernardo Bertolucci) seems intent on proving to us that she's an "arty" film director of the first order. Not so. At least not yet. She actually shoots the movie as though it were a play and, from time to time, we see shots of a very twenty-first century audience watching the eighteenth century characters. While some people might find this innovative, I found it annoying, distracting and just plain silly. The dialogue is terrible. Really terrible. There's absolutely nothing funny, or even romantic about it. More often than not, it falls flatter than an airy soufflé that's had the oven door slammed shut. Ben Kingsley and Fiona Shaw do their best to rescue this trite bit of nonsense, but, for the life of me, I couldn't understand why they were in it in the first place. I guess the script must have been quite deceptive. Mira Sorvino is pretty, but surprisingly terrible in her role. Jay Rodan is adequate, but the best thing that can be said about him is that he's very good looking. THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE is trite and, at two hours, way too long. I found myself dozing off several times even though I watched the film during an afternoon on which I was quite well rested, or at least thought I was. Some films have magic and some simply don't. Peploe certainly didn't find the magic formula with this film. I would suggest giving it a pass and being glad I did. I don't even know why I gave it two stars instead of one. I suppose because the cinematography was nice. All in all, I think this story would have been better done as a book, where the characters and situations could have been endowed with a little more depth.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Fun Time
Review: I thought Triumph of Love was simply one of the best DVDs I've seen in awhile. The style of the film is unique, and it has many fun twists and playful turns. The cast is outstanding. Very funny, romantic, classic.
Rating:
Summary: An undiscovered delight...
Review: I, frankly, had never heard of this movie, despite the stellar cast and director. My wife brought it home from Blockbuster, and I sat down with low expectations -- here would be yet another stiff period piece, a la Howard's End, I thought. Boy, was I wrong. This risque farce is barrels of sweet fun. I laughed harder than I have in a long time, and just fell for the sweet, sultry performance of Mira Sorvino. She lights up the screen. Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: Charming Actors in French Farce But No 'Shakespeare in Love"
Review: It's charming Mira Sorvino, doing the central role of this French farce that was written by Marivaux first played in Paris back in 1732 (so they say). The filmmakers somehow made it in English, with ever-reliable Ben Kingsley and Fiona Shaw. Lucky that they secured these three talents. Sorry that it's not Shakespeare, and equally sorry that the film is not as charming as it should be, like delightful Mira Sorvino herself.
The premise is contrived; you see Ms. Sorvino as the heroine Princess Leonide, who falls in love with Prince Agis (Jay Rodan). Unluckily, the prince is the righteous heir to the throne which the princess has now, for her parents usurped his parents. So, the Princess has to disguise herself as a man, talks her way into the house where the Prince is protected for fear of another assassination. Can you follow me?
If you don't, just forget this part. In short, the film is about the mistaken identities and genders, caused by the protagonist Leonide, or Mira Sorvino, who dresses herself as a man, or woman if the occasion requires, and uses her/his charms to the full. In consequences, all the members of the house -- including the stern protector/philosopher Ben Kingsley and amateur scientist Fiona Shaw -- where Ms. Sorvino sneaks in, find themselves hopelessly and helplessly in love with him ... or her.
One thing must be said. Mira Sorvino is so drop-dead gorgeous (as you know) that no matter how she tries, she cannot look like a male for a moment. Of course, this is a stage contrivance, I know it, and some characters see through it, yes. I know this film is not 'Orlando' where Tilda Swinton was so convincing as both sexes. But the director should have done something, at least.
Another flaw is its bad cameraworks. The camera of Clair Peploe (the wife of Bernado Bertolucci, incidentally), as if to impress us, often floats like a fidgety child. Where the scene should be more romantic to concentrate on the leading actors, the director uses both long shots and close shots (even jump cuts), all disturbing our attention.
The actors are charming to see, and though Mira Sorvino is very funny with her cute, pout mouth, it's Fiona Shaw and Ben Kingsley who are really recommended.
This is no Shakespeare, or 'Shakespeare in Love' for that matter. Still, the actors are good, and well-worth looking for if you like costume dramas.
Rating:
Summary: OK Period Piece
Review: Mira Sorvino, tackling a role a la Gywneth Paltrow in Shakespearce in Love, proves that her Oscar for Supporting Actress in "Mighty Aphrodite" was well deserved. While the plot degenerates to silliness at times (especially the last 20-minute closing sequence), the movie is nonetheless acceptable for single viewing.
Rating:
Summary: The Triumph of Love
Review: The scenery and costumes are delicious. The storyline is intriguing and the performances were just plain fun! The performances were believable by all. Miro Sorvino was delightful and Ben Kingsley was just plain hilarious. Jay Rodan is a treat for the eyes and Fiona Shaw was very entertaining. Just a terrific movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Behold the power of cheese!
Review: The silly, dopey, and terrifically fun "Triumph of Love" is the latest point on Mira Sorvino's bizarre career trajectory. A sweet treatise on the power of love to transform and enlarge us, the film features gorgeous visuals, sumptuous costumes, and the
hopelessly beautiful Jay Rodan as Sorvino's love interest. The supporting cast includes the always welcome Ben Kingsley as a stoic philosopher, Fiona Shaw as his buttoned down sister, and a stunning European Villa where our story unfolds. The plot concerns the machinations of a young princess (Sorvino), who, anxious to right a family wrong, tracks down the sole survivor of the previously disposed royal family. She finds him, he looks like Rodan, and she crashes head first into love. The problem, though, is this; he has been raised to hate all women in general, and the princess in particular, by his guardians, the aforementioned Kingsley and Shaw. Naturally, then, the only thing for Sorvino to do is soften them both up by making them fall in love with her (while disguised as a boy!). That way, she gets to stay near her prince, while simultaneously wrecking her revenge on them for poisioning his heart. Of course, everything goes completely awry, feelings are hurt, hearts are broken and souls are opened up before love does indeed triumph in the end. The message here is that it does not matter so much who you love as that you open yourself up to the experience, and that even love thwarted carries the rewards of joy and inspiration. It is a beautiful message for a beautiful looking film, and Sorvino in particular simply glows with the idea of it. A well-made movie, perfect for a rainy Saturday afternoon, "The Triumph of Love" is an unexpected treat and well worth seeking out.
Rating:
Summary: Great performance of a Marivaux play...
Review: This is the kind of play you usually see only on college campuses. It's an eighteenth century romantic comedy in which crowns are at stake, women dress up like men, an old philosopher with a servant named Harlequin and who hates women and love as a central tenant of his philosophy goes batty but remains likeable. The choreography, staging, direction and, above all acting are great. Mira Sorvino and Ben Kingsley are hilariously intelligent, and Fiona Shaw is perfect and sympathetic. There are a few questionable whimsical touches and some point, about the time Sorvino's character admits "I've lost track of my own plot" the story begins to drag a bit. But all in all, it's quite funny.
Rating:
Summary: Great performance of a Marivaux play...
Review: This is the kind of play you usually see only on college campuses. It's an eighteenth century romantic comedy in which crowns are at stake, women dress up like men, an old philosopher with a servant named Harlequin and who hates women and love as a central tenant of his philosophy goes batty but remains likeable. The choreography, staging, direction and, above all acting are great. Mira Sorvino and Ben Kingsley are hilariously intelligent, and Fiona Shaw is perfect and sympathetic. There are a few questionable whimsical touches and some point, about the time Sorvino's character admits "I've lost track of my own plot" the story begins to drag a bit. But all in all, it's quite funny.
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