Rating: 
Summary: First-rate
Review: A wonderful film that undeservedly flopped at the box office. That I saw it after my first visit to Venice may have influenced my enthusiasm for it, but I still think I would have loved it even if I hadn't just been there. And the lead actress was also in BRAVEHEART, but was a little chunky in that, but slimmed down for this one, and BOY did that make a difference, and transform her into one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen on the screen. I'm disappointed not to have seen her since in anything. She's stunning, and luminous, and rivetting. I loved this film.
Rating:
Summary: Romantic, sumptious, decadent...
Review: I caught this movie late one night when there was nothing else to watch. I was totally captivated and smitten by Catherine McCormack's portrayal of Veronica Franco a real life Courtesan of the 16th century. It was an exquisite film from beginning to end. Jacqueline Biset was superb as Veronica's mother who taught her daughter the powerful arts of her sex and set her upon a path that would eventually lead her into the arms of Senators, Kings and Priests. The understated Rufus Sewell was excellent as the love of her life who at first abandons her when she has to bed the King of France for the sake of her country, but who finally rallies to her side when a jealous young priest accuses her of witchcraft. There are many memorable moments in this film, one being Veronica trying to dissuade her friend from having her daughter become a Courtesan. It is poignant and heartfelt as two women look at the lives they live and wish they were the other. Add to this the scene where Veronica confesses not to being witch before the Catholic Inquisition but just a woman whose choice of profession has been dictated to her by the narrow constraints of Venetian society. This is a film for those who want to be stimulated both sensually and intellectually. It's a shame that it didn't reach a wider audience when it first came out in 1998. Absolutely stunning is my final thought on this ad-fab film.
Rating:
Summary: The most heartbreaking, breathtaking romance that ever was.
Review: Never before has a film had such an impact on me as this one. I cried and smiled and held my breath the whole way through. Marco's decisions at the start of the film are all based on what is expected of him and what he 'must' do, and this closes off the path of happiness that we want him to take with Veronica. The turn of events later in the film prevent him from declaring his love for her and I was crestfallen when he continued with what he 'must' do - even though he did it out of hurt or anger at not having Veronica for himself. I was overjoyed though and on the edge of my seat with excitement when he finally came through for her, ignoring convention and decorum, and standing up for his love. I remember thinking towards the end that it didn't matter if it ended sadly, because they had both acknowledged their love for each other for all to hear, and that even if they didn't live happily ever after, at least they both knew that they had loved each other so much. As the saying goes, 'It is better to have loved and lost....'. This is the kind of love I dream of when I think of the perfect man(and Rufus Sewell has now become the face of my perfect man!). I can't believe I never knew this film existed until almost three years after it's release - but I've got it on video now and every time I watch it is like the first. I feel everything all over again - the chemistry between Marco and Veronica, her reslove at the start that if he will not commit to her then he shall not have her at all, all their desires and pain, and especially the intensity his love for her. The director has done a fantastic job in telling the story - our hopes and feelings lie with the leading couple all through the film - we want Marco to find happiness with Veronica - a 'courtesean' - a lady that would be judged negatively by 'normal' social standards. It's so odd how I came to watch this film, but I think it was meant to find me. It's changed my outlook on so many things and it makes my heart soar just to think of it. This is a film you simply have to see - and the fact that it was based on a true story gives it an edge on other romances.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Ever
Review: This was the best, most romantic movie I've ever seen. I bought it immediately after renting it. Excellent movie, excellent acting.
Rating:
Summary: A great movie of almost impossible love
Review: A typical story of a woman in love with a man she can not have with a twist. Veronica is a modern woman stuck in a past world. She yet discovers a way to overcome the obstacles of this love. This movie will inspire anyone who thinks love in not findable. Veronica, the heroine, knows who her true love is and though yet unconventional means manages to try to win him. It is a beautiful story of Venitian love and loss. A perfect movie for anyone who has felt that the possibility of love is not attainable.
Rating:
Summary: Romantic and Wonderful
Review: I love this movie! It is one of the rare few I can watch over and over, back to back. I never get tired of it. It is beautifully done and a heart and tear jerker everytime I see it!! I just bought Veronica Franco's book too, because I want to learn more about her extraordinary life. What makes this movie so great is that it is based on a real woman, and despite the hardships she went through,she had an amazing life as a courtesan.. and it proves that stories from those sappy romance novels really can happen.
Rating:
Summary: This was a wonderful movie
Review: I absolutely loved this movie. Whoever wrote the screenplay did a fantastic job. the comentary is witty and provocative. It is a wonderful story/biography. It is also from what I understand very historically acurate for those who are history buffs.
Rating: 
Summary: Dangerously Simple
Review: If you're interested in learning about Veronica Franco, through her own words, I would heartily recommend her Poems and Selected Letters, edited by Ann Rosalind Jones and Margaret F. Rosenthal (ISBN 0226259862, 0226259870). Fascinating and insightfully translated; you can hear her true "voice" echoing through the ages, even in another language than her own. If, rather, you're interested in a male-bashing piece of melodramatic tripe posing as an amateurish, hackneyed costume drama, I recommend this movie. There can be no doubt that the historical reality of 16th-century Venice was both sensuous and grim. A rigid, patriarchal society, ruled by only wealth and the cold needs of mercantile exploitation, the city loomed as a sober monument to human nature, against which the people's complex needs and emotions were played out like radiant colors on a black canvas. But this does not mean that all the souls who lived and breathed there were either Monsters (male) or Faeries (female). This movie is all about catering to the lowest common denominator of the female escapist fantasy. The women are well-defined, cultured, and intricate, albeit poorly acted; the men are flimsy caricatures propped up only by their universal nastiness, selfishness, and lust. The villains, the heroes - if they're men, they're brutish, ugly in spirit, and mindlessly obsessed with sex to the exclusion of all else. In the women, these traits are seen as strength, vivacity, daring, and commendable cunning; in the men, these traits are seen as unforgivable, unavoidable manifestations of their uncontrolled inner spirit. Women who are prostitutes are self-empowered; men who want women who are prostitutes are either vile or ignorant. Are you sensing a theme here? Ah well... as a movie, I suppose this is adequate entertainment... turn the sound down, and it's pretty to look at, although somewhat blurry, with a distractingly bland camera strategy, and a disjointed plot, filled to the brim with enough "political corrections" to make a militant feminist blush scarlet. For those seeking a pretty, pandering, mindless sycophant of a film, I give this five stars. For a much better movie that intentionally twists history into a clever and deceptive entertainment, see Shakespeare in Love.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and sensual
Review: This movie was one that I picked, not knowing about the film itself. I loved it. The scenery, the dialogue, and the story brought to life the exact blend of sensuality and historic fiction that I love in a movie. Excellent for people who also enjoyed Shakespeare in Love.
Rating: 
Summary: CATHERINE THE GREAT
Review: CATHERINE McCORMACK is one of today's most beautiful actresses ,but left alone she can't all by herself save this film from sinking after a good start.The story is told like a fairy tale ,and that really disturbed me a lot.This is the kind of film we would like to like more ,but we are stuck with the evidence that it could have been better.The director seems unable to balance the screenplay in it's continuity.This however won't prevent me from seeing all upcomming CATHERINE McCORMACK movies, because i am a fan eversince i saw BRAVEHEART.
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