XVII Century , Madrid ; after spending a night at a bordello a young and inexperienced monarch , King of Spain Felipe II , is infatuated by the nudism (a pose reminiscent of Rokeby Venus) of a beautiful prostitute called Marfisa (Laura Del Sol who holds some nude scenes) and as he wishes anxiously watch his naked wife , Queen Elisabeth of France (Anne Roussel). Felipe II is amazed and he then goes to his secret room where there are paintings of naked women , Venus , painted by known painters : Velazquez , Tiziano . His decision causes a real revolution amidst his subjects . Due to this the Grand Inquisitor (Fernando Fernán Gómez) is obliged to convene a meeting of theologians to discuss the matter . Both sides of the debate are represented by the figure of the stiff-upper-lipped friar Villaescusa (Juan Diego), and the Father Almeida (Joaquin De Almeida) who explains the desire of the king is a private matter . Although the Queen is willing to accommodate to the wishes of the King , Villaescusa and his minions do enough to frustrate his desires . Finally , with the help of the Jesuit and the Count of la Peña Andrada (Eusebio Poncela) , the King gets to meet with the queen alone in the monastery of San Plácido and achieves his goal . Meanwhile, the Count-Duke of Olivares (Javier Gurruchaga) fears that he could being punished by God because he fails to have children with his wife (Alejandra Grepi) , so he gets advice from Villaescusa (Juan Diego) , who informs him that the pleasure he and his wife obtain when performing the sexual act is to be blamed for the infertility and he then proposes a "divinely inspired" solution . Villaescusa ultimately says that the happy ending is due to the sacrifices they all have passed , but the Count Duke replies that could be seen that the fleet had arrived in Cadiz two days ago "just the day King went whores".
An engaging story that describes the main literary issues from prestigious writer Gónzalo Torrente Ballester . Surprising story with luxurious settings , glamorous costumes and abundant erotic frames , but the movie has not mythological accuracy neither expecting historical . However , the film talks about the successful arrival of the Indian fleet to Cadiz and the victory of Spanish troops in Flandes . It is a decent picture in which entertainment and embarrassing events are well developed from start to finish , though crammed with several unappropriated intercourse scenes -in softcore style- between the Earl and his wife when copulate in the choir of the church of San Plácido (where by coincidence are also very nearly the kings) in front of the choir nuns . Nice acting by Gabino Diego as Felipe II who after watching a sensual prostitute , he wants to see his wife naked . Top-notch Joaquin De Almeida as a Jesuit missionary who replies that the luck of the governed depends on the ability of its rulers rather than their morality . And overacting by Juan Diego as a Capuchino friar who ensures that the claim of the king is a serious sin that can bring punishment on the whole country . As trivia to be noted the close resemblance of Gabino Diego and Gurruchaga with Philip IV and the Count-Duke of Olivares respectively . In addition , a fine support cast such as Luis Barbero , Emma Cohen , José Maria Tasso , Eulàlia Ramon Enrique San Francisco , Carmen Elias and Pepe Soriano .
Atmospheric and evocative musical score by José Nieto who composes a stirring soundtrack , including a magic leitmotif . Adding a spotless pictorial cinematography by Hans Burmann and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space ; being rightly filmed on location . Most of the film was shot in the Renaissance palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués (Ciudad Real) and the Monastery of Uclés (Cuenca). This Andrés Santana production was professionally written , produced by Imanol Uribe who also directed , though has has some gaps and flaws , such as the different treatment of historical characters , but these are outweighed by good realization and a good cast . Filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement ; being extremely academic and a cold rendition . It resulted to get enough success at Spanish Box office . And won Goya Awards to Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Juan Diego) , Best Costume Design (Javier Artiñano) , Best Makeup and Hairstyles (Romana González and Josefa Morales) , Best Original Score (José Nieto) , Best Production Design (Félix Murcia), Best Production Supervision (Andrés Santana) , Best Screenplay – Adapted (Joan Potau and Gonzalo Torrente Malvido) and Best Sound (Ricard Casals and Gilles Ortion) . Uribe who lived and had a son with actress María Barranco , gained fame early in his career for his controversial socio-political portraits of the Basque people , such as ¨Fuga Segovia¨, ¨Muerte Mikel¨ . His extraordinary imaginative abilities have been able to produce well-written stories , as he turned to thriller as ¨Adios Pequeña¨, ¨Plenilunio¨ and drama as ¨Bwana¨ , ¨Rey Pasmado¨ , ¨Extraños¨ and his biggest hit smash : ¨Dias Contados¨ or ¨Running out.
