Retro Film Review: The Borgia (Los Borgia, 2006)
Catholic Church is having serious PR problems, but they appear trivial compared to those that plagued the said institution more than half a millennium ago. The historical figure most associated with such problems is Pope Alexander VI, whose papacy, which lasted from 1492 until 1503, is the subject of The Borgias, the 2006 Spanish historical film directed by Antonio Hernández.
The plot describes how the ambitious Spanish cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (played by Lluís Homar), after being elected Pope, focused more on political than religious matters, treating his papacy as a family business. Although as a priest he was not permitted to have a family, he sought to create a dynasty from his illegitimate children that would eventually unite the fragmented and war-torn Italy of his time. Of his four children, son Cesare (played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta) excelled the most, initially appointed cardinal by his father, who later realised that Cesare’s talents were better suited for secular and military pursuits. In contrast, his daughter Lucrezia (played by María Valverde) was less enthusiastic about the family business, being forced into political marriages that often ended in bloodshed.
The Borgias are now synonymous with the worst aspects of the Italian Renaissance and the Catholic Church during a time before Protestant competition compelled it to clean its act. Screenwriter and director Hernández, in his film—produced with a decent budget and at times impressively reconstructing Italy five centuries prior—largely adheres to historical facts, depicting the Borgias as a sort of aristocratic mafia. However, the film omits the juiciest details, such as speculations about incest or Lucrezia’s alleged career as a poisoner, likely because Hernández concluded that those stories were more propaganda from the Borgia family’s enemies than reflections of actual events.
Despite all this, The Borgias is quite an engaging film, primarily due to the strong performances, especially from Lluís Homar as the Pope, who—despite his notoriety—was far from atypical for a pope of his era. Peris-Mencheta’s portrayal of Cesare, on the other hand, goes over the top as an embodiment of machismo. The film’s greatest flaw, however, is its incompleteness; despite a runtime of two and a half hours, it feels like an abridged television series.
Some of those flaws were absent in The Borgias, the 1981 BBC miniseries that presented the notorious family in a more comprehensive manner. This Spanish film was released alongside The Conclave, a Canadian film set in 1458 and starring Manuel Fullola as young Rodrigo Borgia, which can be viewed as a sort of prequel to Hernández’s work. Five years later, the same subject was covered by two competing high-profile television series—The Borgias, created by Neil Jordan, and Borgia, created by Tom Fontana.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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