Petronius Arbiter II

I can only reiterate the plea of a previous reviewer: This wonderful little mini-series, faithfully rendering one of John Mortimer's quirkier novels, ought to be available on video! It has atmosphere, landscapes, art, history, politics, intrigue, character development, a sympathetic protagonist, comedy, pathos, tragedy... what more could you want? It's a regular little Tuscan antipasto of a mystery story! Well-filmed, well-acted, delightful. The only caveat is that the viewer needs to devote careful attention to the plot development, or you may miss it altogether.

... to appreciate this film (but good luck finding a copy in the USA.) Reading IMDB's "external reviews" made me a bit ashamed of my fellow countrymen; the 3 "estadosunidenseados" there all panned it, and only a Mexican web site described it as "excepcional." At least the USA reviewer listed in the "newsgroup reviews" had the sense to give it 3 out of 4 stars, and that's about what it deserves. This Mexican Rip van Winkle tale has a lot of guts and a lot of psychological insight. If some viewers feel that leftist journalist Lauro, awakened from a 20-year coma to a very changed world, is a bit one-dimensional, hence unsympathetic, in his central role, perhaps they're just too young to remember how one-dimensional politics and society looked in 1971, the year Lauro is clubbed over the head by PRI thugs while photoing a demonstration that turns into a "police riot" a la Chicago 1968. Beyond that, I find that the scene where Lauro comes to in his hospital bed is very moving, and the exposition of his situation and difficulties afterwards is actually quite plausible. I wound up sympathizing both with Lauro and with his friends and family who are getting increasingly irritated with his failure to adjust to radically changed circumstances. The only complaint I have is that the ending-- the last few minutes-- seems very contrived and implausible. But then again, it is consistent with the Latin American literary tradition of "magical realism." Please excuse my fit of pique, but I don't think you should have to be Latino (I'm not) to understand that other cultures have different cultural practices, and their artistic products call for a certain discretion in judgment.

... I can't say for sure, because I surely can't claim to have seen all of Corman's massive body of work. This one has a well-crafted script, true to the spirit if not the letter of Jules Verne, and good acting, especially by Vincent Price; most of the other actors are competent but forgettable. Production values exceed those of most Corman movies. For example, the flying machine looks so real you almost feel you could reach out and touch it. Other details of set and costuming contribute to create a very Victorian, Verne-ian atmosphere. The only other movie based on Verne's work that comes close in that respect is "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and that one compares poorly in many respects with "Master of the World."