As Aventuras de Don Juan

Filipe Manuel Neto

**Don Juan, the dissolute redeemed.** This film portrays Don Juan de Maraña, the legendary lover and adventurer who conquered hearts for all the European courts. However, in this film, he is confronted with his own bad reputation and ultimately finds the true love where he least expects to find it. The film is directed by Vincent Sherman and is perhaps his most famous film today, a fact that owes much to the immortal Errol Flynn, who plays the main character. Interestingly, Flynn had a lot of Don Juan in his personal life since, as the character, he has collected romances and love affairs with many Hollywood actresses of that era. As usual, Flynn comes out very well in his role, similar to what he had in other swashbuckler's films as "Captain Blood" or "The Sea Hawk": he is the hero, the adventurer heartthrob who saves the day and wins the heart of the lady. I especially highlight the fight and fencing scenes, with lots of action and theatricality, as was usual at the time. Also the scenarios, designed to detail, and the refined costumes deserve special note. This film is from another era in the history of cinema. It was designed to entertain and go before the main film, at a time when a trip to a movie theater still lasted a full day, as theaters go two films, separated by an interval and preceded by the reporting of news. Nevertheless, it's not a second-rate film. It's a great class film, with an excellent actor who earned his place in history of the Seventh Art.