I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

costumes, pieces from soap opera, atmosphere, characters only as silhouettes. a film who could defined as beautiful but nothing more. its beauty remains at the first level and that does to be one of many historical movies useful only for remind an episode from the past of Spain . presented in large lines, the story of Juana has no soul. the actors seems be tired, the colors are the basic ingredient, the story seems be far by its interpreters. and seems far by the story of a queen because the roots of her gestures remains obscure. story of a woman like many others, captive of her jealousy, it is one of films who not gives more than small references about a generous subject.

This is the historic tale with a politic fight behind , concerning a deep love story who transformed Juana, Queen of Spain, into Juana "The mad" in which Pilar Lopez De Ayala did a powerful interpretation of the nutty queen . Juana is married off by her pious parents , the two famous Catholic kings : intelligent Fernando of Aragon (Héctor Colome) and sensible Isabella of Castille (Susi Sanchez) , to ally Spain , united by their marriage, to the Burgundian and other Habsburg heritage of archduke Maximilian and Maria's son Philip (Daniel Liotti) . As in 1496, Juana De Castilla, daughter of the Catholic Kings, travels to Flandes to marry the Archduke Felipe De Austria, known as 'El Hermoso' or The Handsome . When they meet, it's love at first sight, for her all-consuming, for him one of many happy bed partnerships as she later figures out . Deaths in her family soon make Juana Isabella's heir , but Ferdinand suggests she inherited her grandmother's craziness and supports Philip's ambition to govern instead , which becomes the stakes of political maneuvering in the Cortes and then multiple drama is inevitable . Combined with Philip's relentless infidelity , which includes a Moorish whore-princess (Manuela Arcuri) , and other lovers as the things go awry when Juana uncovers his treason . As mental health Juana starts getting worse and Felipe makes the Burgos Court , nobility-dominated parliament , declare the incurable insanity of Juana and confines her in the monastery of Las Huelgas, proclaiming himself as the king . Finally , Juana is locked at a convent in the city of Tordesillas , Valladolid . Juana "The mad"concerns a peculiar story of love , lies and jealousy with a political confrontation behind . This interesting as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching drama , including strong sex scenes . Vicente Aranda also writes the script along with Antonio Larreta based on a story by Manuel Tamayo and being filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . Extraordinary acting by main star , Pilar Lopez De Ayala , she steals the show at a portentous acting who won several awards . The secondary actors were very intelligent chosen and they all did a marvelous performance . As support cast is frankly magnificent such as Rosana Pastor , Giuliano Gemma , Roberto Álvarez , Eloy Azorín , Guillermo Toledo , Susi Sánchez , Héctor Colome and many others . Original and evocative Music by José Nieto , Vicente Aranda's ordinary . The settings are awesome and the palaces and castles are a right manner to show the life style of those days along with the gowns , royal activities , aristocracy , the Middle Age way of life and mentality of those days . Perfect clothing and costumes by Javier Artiñano . Spotless pictorial cinematography by Paco Femenia , he carries out a photography with juicy atmosphere , being filmed on location in Burgos , Castelo de Guimarães, Portugal El Paular, Madrid, Guimarães, Portugal , Huelva, Andalucía, León, Castilla y León , Sigüenza, Guadalajara,Talamanca del Jarama, Madrid . Cameraman Paco Femenia is deemed to be one of the best Spanish cameraman with a long and prestigious artistic career . The motion picture was lavishly produced by two great producers , Pedro Costa and Enrique Cerezo ; being professionally directed in his particular style by veteran filmmaker Vicente Aranda . He directed a series of award-winning movies firmly establishing him as one of the best Spanish filmmakers . His usual film editor is own wife , Teresa Font . Vicente is an expert on literary adaptations , he has been working from the 60s with ¨Fata Morgana¨ , Las Crueles¨ , ¨Novia Ensangrentada¨ , ¨Clara es el Precio¨ , among others . His greatest successes were intense dramas with plenty of sex such as ¨Amantes¨, ¨Pasion Turca¨ , ¨Si Dicen Que Cai¨ , ¨Intruso¨ , ¨Tiempo De Silencio¨ , ¨Carmen¨ , along with a delinquency tale : ¨El Lute¨I and II starred by Imanol Arias , his fetish actor and specially this historical story titled ¨Juana La Loca¨. Other retelling about this known story based on the play by Manuel Tamayo Y Baus are the followings : A silent version (1909) by Ricardo Baños ; the Spanish classic ¨Locura De Amor¨(1948) by Juan De Orduña with Aurora Bautista as Doña Juana , Fernando Rey as Felipe El Hermoso , Sara Montiel as Aldara , Jorge Mistral as Capitán Don Alvar ; a comical rendition titled ¨Juana La Loca De Vez En Cuando¨ by Jose Ramon Larraz with Lola Flores as Reina Isabel I 'La Católica' , Beatriz Elorrieta as Infanta Doña Juana De Castilla , Jaime Morey as Felipe 'El Hermoso' , Manolo Gómez Bur as Cardenal Cisneros and Quique Camoiras as Fray Tomás de Torquemada .

Is there something special that draws writers to stories that mix royalty with sex? I don't mean contemporary stuff, in which the princess runs off with the chauffeur, but stories like this, historical epics full of billowing robes, stone walls, and someone hidden behind the curtain. Think of the many monarchs with sexual and emotional hang ups -- Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth and Essex, Othello who, like the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand here, loved not wisely but too well. They've all had movies made about them, whereas nobody has ever made a movie about Ethelred the Black or Ethelblack the Red.An operatic story of Joan of Castile, married as a teen ager to Philip the Archduke of Flanders or something. One of those arranged marriages under dun skies that never clear up. She's sent to Flanders virgo intacta and after a perfunctory ceremony Philip carts her off to bed. She evidently undergoes the transport of St. Teresa and she loves him too. She bears him child after child, never seeming to grow beaten under the strain of her fecundity. She even gets a tickle out of breast feeding the baby, a scandalous act at the time, but why not? It releases the hormone oxytocin which induces a mild high.Philip is a different story. He's tall, dark, handsome, muscular, and very virile. He has money and power and all the social graces. Other women fall for him immediately. In fact, he resembles me quite a lot. Alas, though, he can't keep his pantalones on and he's soon doing various courtesans and ladies-in-waiting and whatnot, one of them a passionate but duplicitous Moor who tries to put a spell on him. She doesn't need to try very hard.By this time, Queen Isabella -- she's the one who invested in Columbus -- is dead and Joan becomes in effect the Queen of Spain and Philip is her "consort." Even if you don't know exactly what a consort is, as I don't, it sounds pretty cheap, doesn't it? And who are you? "I am the queen's CONSORT. I consort with the queen, and sometimes she consorts with me when she doesn't have a headache." The happy couple move to Castile. Philip brings his advisers with him and they suggest that the queen is getting a little too jealous over Philip's peccadilloes and that maybe she's mad and Philip should take over and become ruler of Spain in her place. And, to be frank, Joan is acting a little crazy. She challenges her sexy Moor rival to a sword fight. She has her defenders at court but she evidently doesn't care as much about the throne as she does for her husband. Otherwise, when the parliament accuse her of being mad, why would she say, "Mad? I'm not mad, just terribly hurt." Well, she didn't say it. Groucho Marx did, but you get the idea. She's more angry and anxious about Philip's infidelity than anything else.Pilar Lopez de Ayala is Joan, the principal figure, and she's convincing as a queen. There's something regal about her looks, chiefly her large ears, I think, and that promontory of a nose. She has fierce, coal-black irises and is quite handsome. I don't know why Philip had to go nosing around elsewhere. It doesn't do either of them any good. Philip dies of plague and Joan is confined for life to a cell, until her oldest child is of age to rule.There are no momentous battles or duels. It's not a swashbuckler. But the set dressing, wardrobe, and make up seem suitable to the period. It's all rather colorful, though never gaudy. Not under those clouds.Almost accidentally, the film raises an interesting question: What constitutes insanity -- in a ruler or in anybody else? On the screen she seems more consumed by jealousy, more reckless than nuts. But reckless rulers are hardly unknown.

I can't believe this film has such a low rating. Every time I see it in the video store, I think, "I wish I could erase my memory of it so I could see it again for the first time."The viewer gets an intimate look at life as a female member of a royal family during the 16th century. Unable to control with whom she spends her life or make basic choices, Juana is confined in a woman's role, yet has sexual passion fit only for men in her time. And possibly still in ours. It is up to the viewer to decide is she is "mad" or simply craves intimacy.An unpredicable, controversial, and beautifully filmed period film, don't pass this one up.