Movie review : FARINELLI 2, end

[Paolo]

<b>Of course, true to the movie form that "sex sells," the encounter with the trumpet player leads us to a subplot of the movie in which the women that fall for Carlo and are seduced by him are taken in bed by his brother Ricardo. It would seem that they imply that Carlo has SOME sexual drive and ability, but required Ricardo to "finish them off", as it were. This combination of brother and brother for the ladies becomes legendary, or so the film states. Whether or not a boy castrated at such a young age as the Italian castrati were is open to much debate, since removal of the testicles well before puberty would arrest all of the male secondary sexual characteristics.<p>Sorry, it's only rated R and you don't get to see the actual action!<p>We then cut to a few years later where our hero is performing and wow-ing the ladies. <p> Nothing is ever addressed as to the intense training and schooling that little Carlo must have had. Patrick Barbier's book, <u>World of the Castrati</u> is a good read for anyone looking for insights into the upbringing of little castrati in this era. And you thought school was tough on kids TODAY! <p> This performance also hints at the antics and tantrums, not to mention the wild costumes, that castrati such as Caffarelli were famous for. Carlo stops singing when he sees a lady not paying attention to him. Of course, he brings down the house, almost literally! Modern musical groups, such as Van Halen and Def Leppard, have been known to do such things as well over small details. Some things never change?<p>Soon our hero is much in demand, with offers from here there and yonder. Much travelling in involved, which is historically right.<p>Eventually, our hero winds up performing against Handel's theatres for some old friends of Porpora and company who are in financial trouble due to paying their singers. Opera was taken quite seriously in this time, with brawls and extortion being the norm. <p>It is about here, in a flashback, that we see Carlo's false memory of his castration. This is also another stumbling block for the historical accurracy. The boy we see about to be cut looks to be about eleven or twelve and is not the same actor as at the beginning of the film. He is unconscious, doped up on opium, and the scene shows us an old lady filling a hot bath for him while the surgeon readies his tools in the background. The boy looks to be already bandaged in the crotch as Ricardo puts him in the bath. We then cut back and forth between movie and memory. There is no actual cutting scene, however. All we see is the boy being put BACK into the bath, looking like he is coming to, and blood bubbling to the top of the water. <p>The film has Handel telling Farinelli, in a startling revelation, that he never fell off his horse leading to the mythical kick that castrated him. In the film, Father has died already and Ricardo has Carlo castrated. The boy is already sick with a fever of some kind, and this explains why he can't remember why he was castrated. However, history states that Sg. Broschi was already somewhat well to do in politics, and the fact that a "rich boy" was castrated on the request of his Father is very unusual. The film cites the older brother, History cites the Father.<p>At least the film is accurrate in the fact that we are told that only Carlo's testicles were removed, when he tells a lady that he "was left enough to satisy all the world's women." <p>The movie continues with that "war" between Farinelli and Handel, and between Handel's theatre and Porpora's. There's much more in the movie, and the characters of the lady that Carlo wishes to marry (at the request of her disabled son) are open to historical debate as well. I have never read anything that suggested that she or Benedict, the boy with whom Farinelli bonds, ever existed.<p>It is also SERIOUSLY open to doubt as to whether Farinelli made Handel have a stroke at the threatre with his performance of the stolen piece of music, Lascia... as mentioned earlier. There are also flashbacks to the quick castration scenes here, as Carlo finally assimilates what he has been told and decides to destroy Handel once and for all. This DIDN'T happen ... Handel died, but not of a stroke at Farinelli's singing!<p>In the end, we find Ricardo again leaving Spain and "Orpheus" with Carlo. He rides off leaving a letter of apology for having had him castrated as a boy. He also leaves Carlo's wife pregnant, as a gift to his castrated brother. <p>At one point in the movie, Farinelli tells the boy Benedict that he wants nothing more than to have a child. Benedict wants nothing more than to have a father ... but it isn't meant to be. Chances are, this is poetic licensing run amok as well.<p>If you like this type of music, it IS a good show, IF you can overlook the historical glitches and such!<br></b>

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[Paolo]

<b>Of course, true to the movie form that "sex sells," the encounter with the trumpet player leads us to a subplot of the movie in which the women that fall for Carlo and are seduced by him are taken in bed by his brother Ricardo. It would seem that they imply that Carlo has SOME sexual drive and ability, but required Ricardo to "finish them off", as it were. This combination of brother and brother for the ladies becomes legendary, or so the film states. Whether or not a boy castrated at such a young age as the Italian castrati were is open to much debate, since removal of the testicles well before puberty would arrest all of the male secondary sexual characteristics.<p>Sorry, it's only rated R and you don't get to see the actual action!<p>We then cut to a few years later where our hero is performing and wow-ing the ladies. <p> Nothing is ever addressed as to the intense training and schooling that little Carlo must have had. Patrick Barbier's book, <u>World of the Castrati</u> is a good read for anyone looking for insights into the upbringing of little castrati in this era. And you thought school was tough on kids TODAY! <p> This performance also hints at the antics and tantrums, not to mention the wild costumes, that castrati such as Caffarelli were famous for. Carlo stops singing when he sees a lady not paying attention to him. Of course, he brings down the house, almost literally! Modern musical groups, such as Van Halen and Def Leppard, have been known to do such things as well over small details. Some things never change?<p>Soon our hero is much in demand, with offers from here there and yonder. Much travelling in involved, which is historically right.<p>Eventually, our hero winds up performing against Handel's theatres for some old friends of Porpora and company who are in financial trouble due to paying their singers. Opera was taken quite seriously in this time, with brawls and extortion being the norm. <p>It is about here, in a flashback, that we see Carlo's false memory of his castration. This is also another stumbling block for the historical accurracy. The boy we see about to be cut looks to be about eleven or twelve and is not the same actor as at the beginning of the film. He is unconscious, doped up on opium, and the scene shows us an old lady filling a hot bath for him while the surgeon readies his tools in the background. The boy looks to be already bandaged in the crotch as Ricardo puts him in the bath. We then cut back and forth between movie and memory. There is no actual cutting scene, however. All we see is the boy being put BACK into the bath, looking like he is coming to, and blood bubbling to the top of the water. <p>The film has Handel telling Farinelli, in a startling revelation, that he never fell off his horse leading to the mythical kick that castrated him. In the film, Father has died already and Ricardo has Carlo castrated. The boy is already sick with a fever of some kind, and this explains why he can't remember why he was castrated. However, history states that Sg. Broschi was already somewhat well to do in politics, and the fact that a "rich boy" was castrated on the request of his Father is very unusual. The film cites the older brother, History cites the Father.<p>At least the film is accurrate in the fact that we are told that only Carlo's testicles were removed, when he tells a lady that he "was left enough to satisy all the world's women." <p>The movie continues with that "war" between Farinelli and Handel, and between Handel's theatre and Porpora's. There's much more in the movie, and the characters of the lady that Carlo wishes to marry (at the request of her disabled son) are open to historical debate as well. I have never read anything that suggested that she or Benedict, the boy with whom Farinelli bonds, ever existed.<p>It is also SERIOUSLY open to doubt as to whether Farinelli made Handel have a stroke at the threatre with his performance of the stolen piece of music, Lascia... as mentioned earlier. There are also flashbacks to the quick castration scenes here, as Carlo finally assimilates what he has been told and decides to destroy Handel once and for all. This DIDN'T happen ... Handel died, but not of a stroke at Farinelli's singing!<p>In the end, we find Ricardo again leaving Spain and "Orpheus" with Carlo. He rides off leaving a letter of apology for having had him castrated as a boy. He also leaves Carlo's wife pregnant, as a gift to his castrated brother. <p>At one point in the movie, Farinelli tells the boy Benedict that he wants nothing more than to have a child. Benedict wants nothing more than to have a father ... but it isn't meant to be. Chances are, this is poetic licensing run amok as well.<p>If you like this type of music, it IS a good show, IF you can overlook the historical glitches and such!<br></b>

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<b>Paolo</b><p><img src="http://www.eunuch.org/bbs_banners/paolo_banner1.jpg" border="0">

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[Paolo]

<b>Of course, true to the movie form that "sex sells," the encounter with the trumpet player leads us to a subplot of the movie in which the women that fall for Carlo and are seduced by him are taken in bed by his brother Ricardo. It would seem that they imply that Carlo has SOME sexual drive and ability, but required Ricardo to "finish them off", as it were. This combination of brother and brother for the ladies becomes legendary, or so the film states. Whether or not a boy castrated at such a young age as the Italian castrati were is open to much debate, since removal of the testicles well before puberty would arrest all of the male secondary sexual characteristics.<p>Sorry, it's only rated R and you don't get to see the actual action!<p>We then cut to a few years later where our hero is performing and wow-ing the ladies. <p> Nothing is ever addressed as to the intense training and schooling that little Carlo must have had. Patrick Barbier's book, <u>World of the Castrati</u> is a good read for anyone looking for insights into the upbringing of little castrati in this era. And you thought school was tough on kids TODAY! <p> This performance also hints at the antics and tantrums, not to mention the wild costumes, that castrati such as Caffarelli were famous for. Carlo stops singing when he sees a lady not paying attention to him. Of course, he brings down the house, almost literally! Modern musical groups, such as Van Halen and Def Leppard, have been known to do such things as well over small details. Some things never change?<p>Soon our hero is much in demand, with offers from here there and yonder. Much travelling in involved, which is historically right.<p>Eventually, our hero winds up performing against Handel's theatres for some old friends of Porpora and company who are in financial trouble due to paying their singers. Opera was taken quite seriously in this time, with brawls and extortion being the norm. <p>It is about here, in a flashback, that we see Carlo's false memory of his castration. This is also another stumbling block for the historical accurracy. The boy we see about to be cut looks to be about eleven or twelve and is not the same actor as at the beginning of the film. He is unconscious, doped up on opium, and the scene shows us an old lady filling a hot bath for him while the surgeon readies his tools in the background. The boy looks to be already bandaged in the crotch as Ricardo puts him in the bath. We then cut back and forth between movie and memory. There is no actual cutting scene, however. All we see is the boy being put BACK into the bath, looking like he is coming to, and blood bubbling to the top of the water. <p>The film has Handel telling Farinelli, in a startling revelation, that he never fell off his horse leading to the mythical kick that castrated him. In the film, Father has died already and Ricardo has Carlo castrated. The boy is already sick with a fever of some kind, and this explains why he can't remember why he was castrated. However, history states that Sg. Broschi was already somewhat well to do in politics, and the fact that a "rich boy" was castrated on the request of his Father is very unusual. The film cites the older brother, History cites the Father.<p>At least the film is accurrate in the fact that we are told that only Carlo's testicles were removed, when he tells a lady that he "was left enough to satisy all the world's women." <p>The movie continues with that "war" between Farinelli and Handel, and between Handel's theatre and Porpora's. There's much more in the movie, and the characters of the lady that Carlo wishes to marry (at the request of her disabled son) are open to historical debate as well. I have never read anything that suggested that she or Benedict, the boy with whom Farinelli bonds, ever existed.<p>It is also SERIOUSLY open to doubt as to whether Farinelli made Handel have a stroke at the threatre with his performance of the stolen piece of music, Lascia... as mentioned earlier. There are also flashbacks to the quick castration scenes here, as Carlo finally assimilates what he has been told and decides to destroy Handel once and for all. This DIDN'T happen ... Handel died, but not of a stroke at Farinelli's singing!<p>In the end, we find Ricardo again leaving Spain and "Orpheus" with Carlo. He rides off leaving a letter of apology for having had him castrated as a boy. He also leaves Carlo's wife pregnant, as a gift to his castrated brother. <p>At one point in the movie, Farinelli tells the boy Benedict that he wants nothing more than to have a child. Benedict wants nothing more than to have a father ... but it isn't meant to be. Chances are, this is poetic licensing run amok as well.<p>If you like this type of music, it IS a good show, IF you can overlook the historical glitches and such!<br></b>

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<b>Paolo</b><p><img src="http://www.eunuch.org/bbs_banners/paolo_banner1.jpg" border="0">

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[Paolo]

<b>Of course, true to the movie form that "sex sells," the encounter with the trumpet player leads us to a subplot of the movie in which the women that fall for Carlo and are seduced by him are taken in bed by his brother Ricardo. It would seem that they imply that Carlo has SOME sexual drive and ability, but required Ricardo to "finish them off", as it were. This combination of brother and brother for the ladies becomes legendary, or so the film states. Whether or not a boy castrated at such a young age as the Italian castrati were is open to much debate, since removal of the testicles well before puberty would arrest all of the male secondary sexual characteristics.<p>Sorry, it's only rated R and you don't get to see the actual action!<p>We then cut to a few years later where our hero is performing and wow-ing the ladies. <p> Nothing is ever addressed as to the intense training and schooling that little Carlo must have had. Patrick Barbier's book, <u>World of the Castrati</u> is a good read for anyone looking for insights into the upbringing of little castrati in this era. And you thought school was tough on kids TODAY! <p> This performance also hints at the antics and tantrums, not to mention the wild costumes, that castrati such as Caffarelli were famous for. Carlo stops singing when he sees a lady not paying attention to him. Of course, he brings down the house, almost literally! Modern musical groups, such as Van Halen and Def Leppard, have been known to do such things as well over small details. Some things never change?<p>Soon our hero is much in demand, with offers from here there and yonder. Much travelling in involved, which is historically right.<p>Eventually, our hero winds up performing against Handel's theatres for some old friends of Porpora and company who are in financial trouble due to paying their singers. Opera was taken quite seriously in this time, with brawls and extortion being the norm. <p>It is about here, in a flashback, that we see Carlo's false memory of his castration. This is also another stumbling block for the historical accurracy. The boy we see about to be cut looks to be about eleven or twelve and is not the same actor as at the beginning of the film. He is unconscious, doped up on opium, and the scene shows us an old lady filling a hot bath for him while the surgeon readies his tools in the background. The boy looks to be already bandaged in the crotch as Ricardo puts him in the bath. We then cut back and forth between movie and memory. There is no actual cutting scene, however. All we see is the boy being put BACK into the bath, looking like he is coming to, and blood bubbling to the top of the water. <p>The film has Handel telling Farinelli, in a startling revelation, that he never fell off his horse leading to the mythical kick that castrated him. In the film, Father has died already and Ricardo has Carlo castrated. The boy is already sick with a fever of some kind, and this explains why he can't remember why he was castrated. However, history states that Sg. Broschi was already somewhat well to do in politics, and the fact that a "rich boy" was castrated on the request of his Father is very unusual. The film cites the older brother, History cites the Father.<p>At least the film is accurrate in the fact that we are told that only Carlo's testicles were removed, when he tells a lady that he "was left enough to satisy all the world's women." <p>The movie continues with that "war" between Farinelli and Handel, and between Handel's theatre and Porpora's. There's much more in the movie, and the characters of the lady that Carlo wishes to marry (at the request of her disabled son) are open to historical debate as well. I have never read anything that suggested that she or Benedict, the boy with whom Farinelli bonds, ever existed.<p>It is also SERIOUSLY open to doubt as to whether Farinelli made Handel have a stroke at the threatre with his performance of the stolen piece of music, Lascia... as mentioned earlier. There are also flashbacks to the quick castration scenes here, as Carlo finally assimilates what he has been told and decides to destroy Handel once and for all. This DIDN'T happen ... Handel died, but not of a stroke at Farinelli's singing!<p>In the end, we find Ricardo again leaving Spain and "Orpheus" with Carlo. He rides off leaving a letter of apology for having had him castrated as a boy. He also leaves Carlo's wife pregnant, as a gift to his castrated brother. <p>At one point in the movie, Farinelli tells the boy Benedict that he wants nothing more than to have a child. Benedict wants nothing more than to have a father ... but it isn't meant to be. Chances are, this is poetic licensing run amok as well.<p>If you like this type of music, it IS a good show, IF you can overlook the historical glitches and such!<br></b>

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<b>Paolo</b><p><img src="http://www.eunuch.org/bbs_banners/paolo_banner1.jpg" border="0">

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[Paolo]

<b>Of course, true to the movie form that "sex sells," the encounter with the trumpet player leads us to a subplot of the movie in which the women that fall for Carlo and are seduced by him are taken in bed by his brother Ricardo. It would seem that they imply that Carlo has SOME sexual drive and ability, but required Ricardo to "finish them off", as it were. This combination of brother and brother for the ladies becomes legendary, or so the film states. Whether or not a boy castrated at such a young age as the Italian castrati were is open to much debate, since removal of the testicles well before puberty would arrest all of the male secondary sexual characteristics.<p>Sorry, it's only rated R and you don't get to see the actual action!<p>We then cut to a few years later where our hero is performing and wow-ing the ladies. <p> Nothing is ever addressed as to the intense training and schooling that little Carlo must have had. Patrick Barbier's book, <u>World of the Castrati</u> is a good read for anyone looking for insights into the upbringing of little castrati in this era. And you thought school was tough on kids TODAY! <p> This performance also hints at the antics and tantrums, not to mention the wild costumes, that castrati such as Caffarelli were famous for. Carlo stops singing when he sees a lady not paying attention to him. Of course, he brings down the house, almost literally! Modern musical groups, such as Van Halen and Def Leppard, have been known to do such things as well over small details. Some things never change?<p>Soon our hero is much in demand, with offers from here there and yonder. Much travelling in involved, which is historically right.<p>Eventually, our hero winds up performing against Handel's theatres for some old friends of Porpora and company who are in financial trouble due to paying their singers. Opera was taken quite seriously in this time, with brawls and extortion being the norm. <p>It is about here, in a flashback, that we see Carlo's false memory of his castration. This is also another stumbling block for the historical accurracy. The boy we see about to be cut looks to be about eleven or twelve and is not the same actor as at the beginning of the film. He is unconscious, doped up on opium, and the scene shows us an old lady filling a hot bath for him while the surgeon readies his tools in the background. The boy looks to be already bandaged in the crotch as Ricardo puts him in the bath. We then cut back and forth between movie and memory. There is no actual cutting scene, however. All we see is the boy being put BACK into the bath, looking like he is coming to, and blood bubbling to the top of the water. <p>The film has Handel telling Farinelli, in a startling revelation, that he never fell off his horse leading to the mythical kick that castrated him. In the film, Father has died already and Ricardo has Carlo castrated. The boy is already sick with a fever of some kind, and this explains why he can't remember why he was castrated. However, history states that Sg. Broschi was already somewhat well to do in politics, and the fact that a "rich boy" was castrated on the request of his Father is very unusual. The film cites the older brother, History cites the Father.<p>At least the film is accurrate in the fact that we are told that only Carlo's testicles were removed, when he tells a lady that he "was left enough to satisy all the world's women." <p>The movie continues with that "war" between Farinelli and Handel, and between Handel's theatre and Porpora's. There's much more in the movie, and the characters of the lady that Carlo wishes to marry (at the request of her disabled son) are open to historical debate as well. I have never read anything that suggested that she or Benedict, the boy with whom Farinelli bonds, ever existed.<p>It is also SERIOUSLY open to doubt as to whether Farinelli made Handel have a stroke at the threatre with his performance of the stolen piece of music, Lascia... as mentioned earlier. There are also flashbacks to the quick castration scenes here, as Carlo finally assimilates what he has been told and decides to destroy Handel once and for all. This DIDN'T happen ... Handel died, but not of a stroke at Farinelli's singing!<p>In the end, we find Ricardo again leaving Spain and "Orpheus" with Carlo. He rides off leaving a letter of apology for having had him castrated as a boy. He also leaves Carlo's wife pregnant, as a gift to his castrated brother. <p>At one point in the movie, Farinelli tells the boy Benedict that he wants nothing more than to have a child. Benedict wants nothing more than to have a father ... but it isn't meant to be. Chances are, this is poetic licensing run amok as well.<p>If you like this type of music, it IS a good show, IF you can overlook the historical glitches and such!<br></b>

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