Court Grievance History

The film unfolds its story using a "flashback" technique based on Goya's painting "The Nude Maja" and revolves around the causes and consequences of the Duchess being poisoned, telling a tale of "intrigues and romances within the Spanish court" (which can hardly be summed up in the so-called brief description of a "man and two women"). The painter has a chance romantic encounter on the road with a free-spirited girl (played by Penélope Cruz), who is actually entangled in the playful escapades of both the Prime Minister and the Duchess, both hopelessly infatuated with their desires; the Prime Minister maintains a "close" relationship with the Queen for the sake of his position... He likes the Duchess, but for political reasons, the Queen makes him marry the sister of a cardinal, while the "common girl" he still loves stays by his side... The painter also admires the Duchess, perhaps feeling a kind of sentiment deep in his heart; he paints for her, blending his love for the girl with his feelings for the Duchess, creating a portrait of both a clothed "noble lady" and a naked "noble lady" to present to the "Prime Minister". In the end, the Duchess's competitiveness leads to her demise, which she refers to as the "History of Court Resentment" (forgive me for not understanding Spanish). The questions surrounding who "poisoned" the Duchess, with the Prime Minister, the painter, and the girl (whom the noble lady scorns as a "whore") all providing a "Rashomon-like" commentary, ultimately reveal that by the film's conclusion, who killed the Duchess is no longer important because, amidst the fierce court struggles, the entanglements of these men and women are trivial. Everything has become about "interests"; for personal gain, any so-called love and being loved can be sacrificed. Watching the Prime Minister's "disgusting" efforts to please the Queen helps us understand the combination of "political interests" and "personal ambitions". The Duchess becomes the victim of this "game". The first half of the film describes the relationships of these characters; the second half unfolds as the Duchess's death reveals each person's stakes and the multitude of differing opinions, leaving belief to the viewer.