bcheng93 i must say, i'd rather watch these types of movies then a blockbuster any day. the whole movie had three actors in it and not a minute was boring. this movie was fictional but truth be told stuff a lot worse than that happened down in certain countries in south America.sir Ben Kingsley...what a universal treasure the man is and ms. sigourney weaver who i rate as one of the best actresses of any generation. OK, a little bit about the movie, at the start of the movie when she opens the door and goes out into the heavy downpour it enlightened her and at the end the waves set her free and shes finally able to let go. this movie would definitely be shown in film school and should be a requisite. an all time classic in my opinion...and by the way Stuart Wilson did a fine job also as the husband...i mean it's a wonder he didn't just disappear into the background because of the two super strong leads, so complements to him.

moviesleuth2 We hear about it all the time; people have been harmed in the most unspeakable ways, causing pain that most of us cannot begin to even imagine. If this happened to you, what would you do if the person who hurt you walked into your house? This kind of moral quagmire has been approached before in films. Many times, in fact. The torture angle is new though. Unfortunately, that's all that's new about this story.But this is the situation that one woman, Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver), an ex-activist who was horrifically tortured in order to give up the name of a fellow activist (who later became her husband), finds herself in, when a man (Ben Kingsley) is invited into their home after helping her husband (Stuart Wilson). She is convinced that this man, Dr. Miranda, is the one who brutalized her. He denies it, of course. And her husband, now a high-powered lawyer, is caught in the middle.This film could have gone in two opposite directions: a high-powered, claustrophobic thriller or a leadened message movie. Fortunately, it's not the latter (no one is going to mistake this movie for a UNICEF infomercial), but sadly, it's not the former either. It's somewhere in the middle. There are moments of where it works, but overall it's pretty boring.Part of the reason is that the most important part is miscast. Sigourney Weaver is a good actress, but she's not right for this role. She has moments of effectiveness (Weaver is good at being vulnerable), but when she tries to act menacing, she's awful. Ben Kingsley is terrific, though, as the may-or-may not be torturer. He keeps us on our toes, and we never know whether or not he's innocent. Noted character actor Stuart Wilson is actually able to keep up with the Oscar-winner and Oscar-nominee.The problem isn't necessarily with Roman Polanski's approach. "Death and the Maiden" is heavy on the atmosphere, although it could have used some more claustrophobia to increase the tension. The problem is that the script, based on the play, is rather bland. There's nothing that really draws us into the story, and it doesn't take any risks. Thus what could have been a powerful and provocative drama or thriller (take your pick) becomes inert.It's not a total waste; the film effectively keeps us guessing who's telling the truth. But the suspense isn't there, even though it has plenty of opportunity to build. However, the ending of the film is horrible. What happens not only doesn't make sense, it's actually more than slightly reprehensible.This isn't a bad film, just a wasted opportunity.

sol **SPOILERS** Mind bending political as well as psychological thriller involving a former woman freedom fighter Paulina Lorca, Sigourney Weaver,who was brutally tortured and raped by her secret police captors. This all happened back in the spring of 1977 in the secret police trying to get Paulina to reveal the whereabouts and identity of her lover and later husband Gereldo Escobar, Stuart Wilson, who was one of the top leaders of the freedom fighting movement in the country.It's now 17 years later-1994-and with a new democratically elected government in charge Geraldo has been picked by the country's new president to head the newly formed "Commission". "The Commission" has the power in both arresting and prosecuting those who were responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of citizens, like Paulina, whom the previous Fascist Dictatorship felt was a threat to it!As things turn out Gerlado's car gets stuck in the mud on his way home, after being but in charge of "The Commission", where he's then helped by good Samaritan neighbor the kindly Dr. Roberto Miranda, Ben Kingsley, by giving him a ride to his sea-front house. It's when Pauline, who's hiding in the bedroom, who for some reason thinks she's still on the lamb, from the former governments secret police, hears Roberto talk she flips out feeling that he's the person who brutally tortured and raped her some 17 years ago!It's then the the movie, like Paulina, starts to zig-zag merrily along in a number of really off-the-wall sequences. Roberto soon becomes a captive who, like what Paulina accused him of doing to her, ends up being tortured and humiliated by Pauline in order to get a confession out of him! The forced confession, with Paulina holding a gun to his head, has to do in Roberto's involvement with the previous Fascist Government in his supervising the torture of dozens of political prisoners. The government put Paulin's husband Geraldo in charge, by being the head of "The Commission", to see to it that those involve in the torture and murder of thousands of "enemes of the state" are brought before the bar of justice and made to pay for their crimes against the people!Paulina is sure that Roberto is the man who brutally abused her back in 1977 and tries to get him to confess, on video tape, his crimes. Even though when she was supposedly tortured and raped by him Paulina never once saw Roberto's face but only heard his voice and smelled his very bad, due to his heavy consumption of garlic, breath that was far worse then any of the torture he inflicted on her. Gerlado, in him being a lawyer, feels that the evidence Paulina has on Roberto isn't enough for an indictment much less a conviction!The films goes on and on with the poor Roberto being beaten and humiliated by Paulina with her passive husband Geraldo, when he later becomes convinced that Roberto is in fact the "Man", later joining in on the torture sessions. It's when Roberto breaks free and tries to make a run for it that, what seems like, the truth finally comes out! That's only after Roberto is again captured by Paulina & Geraldo and finally, without that much persuasion by the two, seems to come clean with his past!***SPOILER ALERT***The movie ends like it began with Paulina and Geraldo at the theater attending a performance of Schubert's " Death of a Maiden". What we didn't see at first we see later on, when the movie is almost over, in that not only Pauline and Geraldo are in the audience but Roberto, who was supposed to have killed himself by jumping off a cliff, was there as well!

lastliberal Roman Polanski's film is raw and exciting as you are literally on the edge of you seat wondering just what is going to happen next.It is based upon a play, so there are only three characters, but that is all it needs.Sigourney Weaver is a torture survivor from a Latin-American country. Pick one, we have been complicit in torture in many of them. She is married to Stuart Wilson, who has just been picked to head up a new commission to bring torturers to justice, but only those who have killed. There will be nothing for survivors like Weaver.Enter the great Ben Kingsley, who just happens to pick up her husband after a flat tire. She recognizes the voice - or she says she does. The rest of the story is how she is convinced he is her torturer and captures him to force a confession.This is where it gets raw and powerful as she recounts what was done to her while trying to get a confession. Her husband is caught in that trap where you support your wife, but you don't quite believe her to be right.It was compelling, and all three actors made it a film that should have gotten wider recognition.