Stefano Dionisi,
Enrico Lo Verso,
Elsa Zylberstein,
Jeroen Krabbé,
Caroline Cellier
... see more 
The performer known as Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi (and played in this film by Stefano Dionisi), was famous in the 18th century as the world's greatest castrato, a male singer whose testicles were r... read more
DVD Release Date: August 22, 2000
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Stats: 224 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (224)
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July 29, 2008Beautiful, lush, sumptuous...all words that can be used to describe various aspects of this film. My only issue would be that the love between Farinelli and the woman who would later be his wife was barely explored at all - they go from arguing and ignoring each other to later li... read more
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April 27, 2008The colourful and uninhibited life of "il castrato" Farinelli and his brother Riccardo Broschi, two men who shared their music and their women. An operatic biopic with impressive production values and a dreamy score. Not as big as Milos Forman's Amadeus, but still, a picture with... read more
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July 12, 2007I don't think there are enough good words to express how much I loved this movie. Beautiful movie that any opera fan or foreign film fan should look into. Excellent movie. A must see for sure.
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February 6, 2007A beautifully shot film about a constrato (a male singer whose scrotum has been removed to preserve his feminine voice) and his life as a classical version of a modern rock star. With beautiful music through out the film, it is similar to Amadeus.
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January 7, 2007There isn't a whole lot of substance in this movie, but it's upholstered in enough silk and satin to distract you from everything it lacks. "Sumptuous" is the word, I believe.
Critic Reviews
February 13, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
There's something too artificial and highfalutin about the movie. Full Review
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
A fascinating, if occasionally overly melodramatic, recreation of a period when Baroque music ruled Europe. Full Review
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Because Carlo Broschi, the 18th-century castrato singer known as Farinelli, was himself such an exotic and sensationalistic figure, you'd think that creating a dull movie out of his flamboyant life wo... Full Review
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Glossy and histrionic, salacious and empty, Farinelli reduces a fascinating story to a series of hissy fits and leering glances. Full Review
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Farinelli, one of the 1995 Oscar nominees in the foreign film category, is onto an interesting story, all right, but it leaves us feeling, like some of Farinelli's lovers, that something is missing. Full Review
August 4, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This Oscar-nominated Belgian entry about catsration of boys who became phenomenal soprano opera singers is more bizarre than drmatically engaging, but the story is always fascinating and the movie nic... Full Review
November 28, 2002
Gabriel Shanks, Mixed Reviews
Romantic, sweeping tale of sex and sibling rivalry that manages to connect despite its overwrought storytelling.
August 30, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Stops you in your tracks and transports you to a phantasmagorical world where music, mystery and magic hold sway. Full Review
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Farinelli
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