"A woman who is the scandal of Christendom." Katharine of Aragon describes her rival, 1531

Rating: 6/10 (28 June 2008)

I would not study history of England based on "The other Boleyn girl" (2008) but I enjoyed it and found it quite entertaining. Boleyn girls, two sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson,) were gorgeous and Henry VIII (Eric Bana) long before he looked like on his famous portraits by Hans Holbein, Jr, the object of both sisters' desires was very appealing. Kristin Scott Thomas played Lady Boleyn, Anne's and Mary Boleyn's mother. Scott Thomas has so much class and dignity about her, and I like her in every movie I've seen her.
I actually did not know that Mary Boleyn, the older Anne's sister (in the movie she was younger), had been Henry VIII's mistress and might have (or not) had a son with him. According to the movie and the novel by Philippa Gregory it was based on, Mary had a son with Henry who then fell in love with sharp-witted, alluring, and unavailable Anne who firmly refused to become the king's mistress. So great was his desire for her, it led to Henry's annulment of the 20+ years marriage with the queen Katharine of Aragon and split with Catholic Church thus starting the Church of England. Katharine of Aragon comes as a decent and intelligent woman played by Ana Torrent. Now, that's the most pleasant surprise of the movie. Eight-year-old Ana Torrent gave an unforgettable performance as "Ana" in the film El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive) by Víctor Erice. She was memorable in the relatively small role in Justin Chadwick's historical drama comparing to Portman or Johansson.
Anne Boleyn was a remarkable and bright woman, (bitch as she was, quick-tempered and spirited) and it is clear that her daughter Elizabeth, the future greatest Monarch in the England's history, Good Queen Beth inherited strength, iron will, brilliance, and brain from her mother. The fact that Elizabeth did not want to get married only speaks in her behalf - she was smart enough not to let any man to tell her what to do and to dominate her. Her mother Anne was not that lucky. The second part of the movie, the fall of Anne Boleyn, "Anne of Thousand Days" was rushed, sensational, and much weaker than the promising beginning. Since those historic figures had been dead for almost 500 years, it is easy to come up with any shocking accusation toward them - they won't defend themselves. Anyway, the costumes and the sets were the feast for eyes, I was not bored and after the movie was over, I spent some time researching on the web the key players of the real life drama that was set in the beginning of 1500s, changed the future of Europe, and included love, lust, ambitions that would destroy the family ties, rise to power, and deadly fall from it.