With his flamboyant androgyny and wide-ranging soprano voice, the eponymous hero of Farinelli comes off as the 18th-century equivalent of a glam rock star. Gerard Corbiau wrote and directed this French/Italian 1994 coproduction, and Stefano Dionisi stars as the famous real-life castrato (a.k.a. Carlo Broschi) who rose to pop-star fame in Europe singing the music of his composer brother, Riccardo (Enrico Lo Verso). Legend has it that women fainted while listening to Farinelli hit the high notes (one woman even claims Farinelli gave her her first "musical orgasm.") Modern viewers will find plenty to swoon at in the film's beautiful baroque score. The musical numbers are performed in lavish theaters before well-costumed audiences, with Farinelli himself decked out in a variety of gargantuan feather headdresses. Glamour aside, the film is ultimately about the sacrifices that are made for art and about the unusual relationship between the two brothers, who had a "pact" whereby they shared everything -- even sexual conquests -- providing scenes of intriguingly decadent eroticism.