I'm glad I went!

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 1999)

I am a big fan of Antonio Banderas but because of the bad reviews this film received, I resisted seeing it at first. I'm glad that I changed my mind. While the director sadly relies on a few one-liners from Antonio that undermine the drama, I fell in love with characters that were created and the subtle ways that their personalities were revealed and developed. The locations were breathtaking and the story telling was good. Some plot "twists" you could see coming a mile away while others were a complete surprise. There are admittedly some flaws in the storytelling, but they were (for me - never having read the book) easy to overlook. If you're tired of Hollywood's typical "outsider" saves the lot, you'll love this film.