Fresh
The thing works in its goofy way, mainly because Bille August is a man of apparently dauntless conviction. He has written and directed every scene with serene authority.
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
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The House of the Spirits
Overview
A rancher, his clairvoyant wife and their family face turbulent years in South America.
Director and cast
- Bille August Director
- Meryl Streep as Clara del Valle Trueba
- Glenn Close as Ferula Trueba
- Jeremy Irons as Esteban Trueba
- Winona Ryder as Blanca Trueba
- Antonio Banderas as Pedro Tercero Gareia
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Severo del Valle
- María Conchita Alonso as Transito Soto
- Vincent Gallo as Esteban García
- Jan Niklas as Count Jean de Satigny
- Joaquín Martínez as Segundo
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
32%
Tomatometer
Fresh
The flaws aren't fatal. The beauty and brilliance that might have been, don't preclude the quality and bravery that exist on the screen.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Rotten
The House of the Spirits is like Gone With the Wind with the fun and excitement replaced by lofty. All that's left is the wind.
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Rotten
How can an accomplished director take a great novel, the best actors working and the finest technicians available and make a film so... bland? It's a puzzlement.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rotten
Inert from its opening moments to its too-long-delayed close, this lackluster production is an example of international filmmaking at its least attractive, and a misstep in the careers of pretty much everyone involved.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
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