Review of Sex and Lucía (2001) by Christopher G — 11 May 2009

Spanish movie with a tall brunette who kind of looks like Penelope Cruz--I was expecting something like an Almodovar film. But I was very wrong.

Lucia y El Sexo is also beautifully shot, but it plays out more like a surreal thriller or mystery. Paz Vega plays Lucia, who moves in with an author, Lorenzo, who she has been following around. Things are great at the beginning, but then Lorenzo finds out about a young daughter that was a result from a memorable island tryst six years earlier. He goes to find the mother and gets caught up in all sorts of drama. Meanwhile, Lucia reads about the events as Lorenzo uses them as inspiration for his new novel. Lorenzo is driven to depression and runs away. Presuming him to be dead, Lucia ventures off to the island that Lorenzo always spoke of so romantically, and there she stumbles into the very tangled web that Lorenzo has weaved.

The narrative jumps back and forth in time, and also occasionally describes characters in book that Lorenzo is writing, so it can get very surreal. There are ongoing themes of water and the sun and the moon, which gives the story a very ethereal quality. And of course, there's sex and the many consequences that it can have.

All of characters are interconnected in many ways. Although that makes it pretty unrealistic, it also keeps you on the edge of your seat as more and more things are revealed. A very interesting and creative film.