Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Synchronicity and resolution: keys to this interesting film
I had only read bits and pieces about Sex and Lucia (Lucia y el sexo) when I attended a matinee this past weekend. The buzz on the film was very positive, and the story sounded romantic and interesting. After seeing it I can say without reservation, it is one of the best films to come to American shores in yearsOne item of note I'll get out of the way now:
Sex and Lucia is very sexually explicit, even more so than Y Tu Mama Tambien (which I also recommend: it's appearing on DVD in October of this year.) The sex scenes don't bother me per se: it's just that the first 30 or so minutes are very much centered around the physicality of the relationship between Lucia and her boyfriend, Lorenzo. I really thought the film's tone would be all about sex, so to speak. Not so however... The last 90 minutes delve very, very deeply into the complexities of Lorenzo and Lucia's relationship. Several ancillary but pivotal characters who are involved with Lucia and Lorenzo form the complex connections that make the story so interesting and involving. The movie begins in the present, then flashes back 6 years to the beginnings of Lucia and Lorenzo's torrid "romance." The film does flash back-and-forth so it might take you a while to put it all together while watching, but it's more than worth the effort. The film features a beautiful and fitting soundtrack: you are aware of it throughout the entire movie. I know it's available from Amazon.com France's site, but not stateside yet. If I can't find it here in the next few weeks, I'm going to have to break down and pay international postage and get my hands on a copy! The composer, Alberto Iglesias, is quite talented and evidently has released a few other albums I'll be looking for on Amazon. In the end all the characters' motivations, emotions and desires collide in a very, very chilling climax. I use the word chilling not to convey horror, but rather a sense of shock and disbelief. The ending is a surprise that does make you wonder about the people you surround yourself with, and how your life can change direction in a matter of mere moments. To say Lucia y el Sexo is a profound or thought-provoking film is probably too simplistic. It deserves every single accolade and piece of critical praise it has received. A movie I will be experiencing a second or even third time in the theatres in the weeks to follow. 7 stars out of 5....
Rating: - Absolute Bliss
Sex and Lucia is my favorite film of all time. I have never had such enthusiasm for a film before! The beauty of this movie is so multi-dimensional. The love that Lucia and Lorenzo have for each other is deep and enduring, nurturing, accepting and playful. Sex and Lucia is the most positive portrayal of love and sexuality that I have ever witnessed on the big screen. Critics applauded this film as "the steamiest film of the year." Yet, it is more than that. Not only are we able to experience the best of romantic love, we are also offered the very meaning of life. Artfully, so masterfully, Julio Medem brings us the theme that "sometimes you fall through a hole in life, a place where the sun and moon come together. When this happens, you have the power to completely recreate your life." This merger, falling and recreation is what this film is all about. This process of creation underlies the very sexual nature of all existence, which the film illustrates so powerfully. The film guides us deeply into the feminine, deeply into the masculine. We are entranced with the dance of dark and light coming together to produce bliss. The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. Suspend your mind. You won't be able to follow all the bizarre coincidences, plot twists, and intentionally perception-bending twists and turns, but you will know the power of acceptance and faith in healing a love relationship.
Rating: - very intriguing film
having heard virtually very little information about this film, i decided to give it a try as i love foreign or art films. of all the films i've had the displeasure or pleasure of watching, sex and lucia is by far one of the most intoxicating films i've seen yet in the local multiplex cinema. with a structure and characterization unlike most films, lucia may be a film you will have to watch twice before you can truly digest everything. even then, there is quite a bit to chew on. here we have a thought provoking, totally mysterious, and always seductive atmosphere which pulls us in like a black hole leading us to water. off and on throughout the story, we are reminded that the film can literally change it's course at anytime and completely alter all of our character's destinies within less than a breath. while this MOVIE may be worlds away from being called pornography, i still say the film is more graphic or suggestive than the majority of the films we will see this year including another favorite y tu mama tambien. i'm glad to say however that the acting here and story are so well-drawn that everything seems to click here like the screenwriters had perhaps originally intended. i am not sure though if the lighting and the camera movements are intetional here but that gives the film somewhat of an edge and literally compliments the story within the big picture. rather than shying away from a film like lucia because you don't like subtitles or graphic love scenes, give this incredible piece of film making a try. i will gladly add this one to the growing collection of independent art and foreign films once it arrives on dvd.
|
