Cast: Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Armin Mueller-
Stahl, Vanessa Redgrave, Vincent Gallo, Maria Conchita Alonso
Director: Bille August
Producer: Bernd Eichinger
Screenplay: Bille August based on the novel La Casa de los Espiritus by Isable Allende
Cinematography: Jörgen Persson
Music: Hans Zimmer
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
Sometimes, it's impossible not to contemplate what a motion picture could have been had a few things about it been different. Often, especially for very good or very bad movies, the changes will make little difference. However, in the case of The House of the Spirits, which is a worthy effort as it stands, certain alterations (not all of which would have been simple to execute) might have transformed this into a devastating film. Alas, deficiencies rob the picture of a share of its impact, limiting the ultimate emotional appeal and power of Bille August's adaptation of Isable Allende's novel.
The House of the Spirits spans six decades, beginning in South America in 1926 and ending in the same country during the early 1970s. The primary focus is Esteban Trueba (Jeremy Irons), who, as a young man, courts the beautiful and gentle Rosa Del Valle (Teri Polo). The two are set to be married when Rosa accidentally drinks from a poisoned glass of wine meant for her father, Severo (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Following the death of his fiancee, Esteban travels to the countryside to claim the plantation of Tres Marias, which he molds into a thriving estate using the labor of those living on the land. In 1944, he returns to the village of his birth to ask the other Del Valle daughter, the clairvoyant Clara (Meryl Streep), to be his wife. The pair marry, and, along with Esteban's sister Ferula (Glenn Close), move to Tres Marias where a stormy life, filled with deceptions and brutality, unfolds in the shadow of revolution.
The House of the Spirits is driven by its complex and many-faceted plot, not by the characters that populate the film. The story moves along at a rapid pace, sometimes glossing over situations that might have added texture and depth to the relatively-flat protagonists. Events fly by as fast as the decades, with political activities gaining importance as the movie races towards its conclusion. What starts out as a relatively simple love story ends in a clash between cultures and classes, between the old ways and the new ones.
Many of the characters, both major and minor, are ciphers for a certain point-of-view or belief. This includes Pedro (Antonio Banderas), the lower-class revolutionary; Esteban Garcia (Vincent Gallo), the unprincipled army officer; and even Ferula, the maligned and misunderstood sister who wants only to be shown love and affection.
Even Jeremy Irons' Esteban remains underdeveloped until well into the second half, when events conspire to re-shape his previously intransigent personality, lending it depth and dimension. Meryl Streep's Clara is one of the few characters to be well-rounded from the start, although, even in her case, there is unplumbed territory -- her odd psychic powers are only occasionally brought into use, and then as minor plot devices, when so much more could have been formed from that raw material.
Winona Ryder, given perhaps her most difficult role to date, carries it off with aplomb. As Blanca, the daughter of Esteban and Clara, she plays an integral part in all the develops during the movie's second half, including the events that finally open her father's eyes to those basic truths from which he has been hiding. In addition to that of Ryder, the best performances are given by Close, Streep, and Irons (although it becomes something of an annoyance trying to pin down what Esteban's accent is supposed to be). Each member of this well-respected trio does the kind of job expected of them.
Perhaps director August was constrained by running time, but his latest project shows little of the careful examination of character that his two most celebrated films -- Pelle the Conqueror and The Best Intentions -- exhibit. In fact, The House of the Spirits is in many ways the antithesis of The Best Intentions. While the latter was a slow-moving piece that allowed its participants time to grow and breathe, this new film seems at times constrained and cramped. At its best, The House of the Spirits interweaves the very personal story of its main characters with the turbulent political backdrop which frames their actions. Bille August has done a fine job with Isable Allende's tale, crafting a captivating motion picture, but it's hard not to recognize the flaws, and wonder about the lost potential.
© 1994 James Berardinelli