In the film "Don Juan De Marco" Johnny Depp plays someone who fervently believes he is the title character. Sporting flamboyant clothing, a mask for his eyes, and a Spanish accent, this Don Juan sets about wooing whichever women catch his eye. Evidently, his track record is just as good as the fictional character on whom he has based his life.
Marlon Brando steps into the picture as a psychiatrist who first coaxes Don Juan out of suicide and who then must treat him professionally. The contemporary Don Juan is able to put off having to take the usual supplemental medication by convincing his psychiatrist to listen to the events which made him who he is before deciding that he has a mental disorder of some kind. Brando reluctantly agrees to this and then listens, enraptured, for the next few days as Don Juan reveals his past.
Much of the film is told in flashback, as Don Juan recounts his first love, the death of his father, becoming a lover to a sultan's 1500 wives, and the loss of his one true love. The stories, which all have a fanciful, romantic quality, inspire the psychiatrist to become more romantic with his own wife. Research into the young man's past lead to conflicting accounts of his youth, so the psychiatrist is willing to take him at his word to a limited extent.
"Don Juan De Marco" is one of those films you either buy into or you don't. You either get swept away by its charm and end up believing in miracles or the whole thing washes over you, leaving you unaffected except for the distinct flavor of corniness. My response to the film is of the latter kind. Certainly, Depp and Brando do a fine job of bringing this modern-day fable to life. On the other hand, things tend to work out in that all-too-pat way that can only happen in movies.