Goya

The film was actually supposed to have been made in the mid-1960s, but so soon after the 11th SED Plenum, it did not seem like a good idea to tell the story of an artist who transforms from a conformist into a rebel and opposes the questionable methods of those in power. The effort that ultimately went into making GOYA was considerable and was rewarded with, among other things, the Special Jury Prize at the Moscow Film Festival: actors from eight countries, 120 copies of paintings and 3,000 costumes – plus elaborate filming in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Crimea. Behind the façade of history lie the contradictions between art and power that lead Goya (and, in a sense, Konrad Wolf) on his ‘arduous path to enlightenment’ – and which remain timelessly valid to this day.
(Florian Widegger)