Mad Love (2001) is a story of Juana, a Castilian princess who was arranged to be married to Felipe, the archduke's son. Although the marriage was a political strategy, soon love and deep passion developed between the couple. Because of unfortunate deaths in their family, Juana became the heir for her mother's throne as queen of Spain. Due to pressures brought by her new role as queen and the discovery that her husband is unfaithful, Juana's paranoia worsened and became an excuse for her to be overthrown as queen.
The role played by Pilar Lopez de Ayala was of a beautiful lady obsessed by passion for the only man she evr loved. She endured her husband's infidelity because of her great love for him. Felipe, played by Daniel Liotti, was a man blinded by lustful desires for another woman, and this caused his demise. According to Wikipedia, the movie was shot in Portugal, and had the look of the early 1400's to the late 1500's.
The movie's message was that a person's love for another can become so great to the extent that the person is willing to overlook any flaw or any mistake. I noticed that the director did not include Juana and Felipe's children in the story. I think this is because the movie would be longer if their children would be introduced.
The top which Juana loves to play with signifies her innocence and her inexperience regarding matters of the heart. The black gown always worn by Juana symbolizes her grief for her mother's death.
The union in marriage of Juana and Felipe symbolizes the political alliance between Castile and Flanders. The scene where Juana bore a child inside the bathroom signifies her lack of class and her little knowledge about the actions of a fine woman. Also, the coin or the amulet possessed by Aixa, Felipe's Moorish lover, signifies how she could manipulate the latter to bend him to her wishes. The movie's motif is when Juana opens her legs so that she could make love to Felipe. Honestly, the sexual scenes in the movie brought life to the movie as a whole. Without it, I seriously doubt that we would enjoy.
Overall, I think the movie was good. It was somewhat opposite the movie Malena because in the latter, Renato had a deep sense of respect for his love. However, Felipe seemed to have drifted away from Juana and focused his attention in womanizing. I suggest that to make the story more interesting to the viewers, the director should give Alvaro more significance in Juana's love. Also, the director should have shown what happened to Aixa. It would be better to put a proper ending to the supporting characters' parts in the story.
