The House of the Spirits (1993)
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29% of critics liked it
(34 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(9,028 ratings)
Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. The story is a sweeping and brooding melodrama, spanning generations and filled with violence, revenge, and telekinesis. The tale begins in South America… More Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. The story is a sweeping and brooding melodrama, spanning generations and filled with violence, revenge, and telekinesis. The tale begins in South America in 1926, when a young man, Esteban (Jeremy Irons), falls in love with the daughter of a rich man, Rosa Del Valle (Teri Polo). He vows to become rich enough to make her his wife and spends months of toil in the gold fields to earn enough money to do just that. Before the two marry, however, Rosa is killed by poison meant for her father. After the tragedy, Esteban moves to Trés Marias, an abandoned ranch, and spends 20 years of his life turning the ranch into a thriving estate, exploiting the labor of the poor who live off the land. When he returns to the city, he comes across Rosa's younger sister Clara (Meryl Streep), now a woman with telekinetic abilities. Clara took a vow of silence years before, but upon the arrival of Esteban, she speaks for the first time in years -- "You have come to propose marriage to me," she says. Esteban and Clara marry, and Esteban takes her back to the ranch, where they have a daughter, Blanca (Winona Ryder). Their daughter falls in love with the son of one of Esteban's foremen, a hot-headed revolutionary named Pedro (Antonio Banderas). Now, the country is in the throes of revolution. Esteban banishes his sister Ferula (Glenn Close) from the ranch, beats his wife, and rapes a peasant woman. The product of Esteban's rape (Joaquin Martinez) grows into an angry young man who convinces Esteban to send him away to military school. When there is a military coup, the illegitimate son returns to Trés Marias with revenge and torture on his mind. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Bille August
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International, Classics
R,
- In Theaters
- Apr 1, 1994 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 19, 2001
- Studio
- Live Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
The thing works in its goofy way, mainly because Bille August is a man of apparently dauntless conviction. He has written and directed every scene with serene authority.
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Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
The flaws aren't fatal. The beauty and brilliance that might have been, don't preclude the quality and bravery that exist on the screen.
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Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
The House of the Spirits is like Gone With the Wind with the fun and excitement replaced by lofty. All that's left is the wind.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
How can an accomplished director take a great novel, the best actors working and the finest technicians available and make a film so... bland? It's a puzzlement.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Inert from its opening moments to its too-long-delayed close, this lackluster production is an example of international filmmaking at its least attractive, and a misstep in the careers of pretty much everyone involved.
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Cast
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Jeremy Irons
as Esteban Trueba
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Meryl Streep
as Clara
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Glenn Close
as Ferula
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Winona Ryder
as Blanca
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Antonio Banderas
as Pedro
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Maria Conchita Alonso
as Transito
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Vincent Gallo
as Esteban Garcia
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Jan Niklas
as Satigny
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Joaquín Martínez
as Segundo
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Sarita Choudhury
as Pancha
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Teri Polo
as Rosa
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Miriam Colon
as Nana
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Armin Mueller-Stahl
as Severo
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Vanessa Redgrave
as Nivea
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Pedro Efe
as Interrogation Officer
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Denys Hawthorne
as Politician
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Lone Lindorff
as Maid
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Vivian Reis
as Indian Girl
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Carlos Rodríguez
as Postman
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Jaime Tirelli
as Oliver
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Martin Umbach
as TV Reporter
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Fran Fullenwider
as Emer Trueba
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Miguel Guilherme
as Soldier
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Steve Mason
as Maestro
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Frank Baker
as Intelligence Officer
- Mamie Gummer
