Sex & Lucia (2001/R-rated Edition/Palm Pictures DVD)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Film: B

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Palm has issued this release in its uncut version on Blu-ray, which you can read more about at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10436/Home+(2009/Kino+Lorber+Blu-ray)

 

 

 

Lucia (Paz Vega) is a waitress who receives a phone call leading her to believe that her boyfriend Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa) has been killed in an accident.  Distraught by this she flees to an island in the Mediterranean to escape her sorrow.  The relationship between Lucia and Lorenzo is a beautiful one, lasting six or so years, they are madly in love with one another, but their love has been fading ever since Lorenzo embarked on his second novel.  Sex & Lucia is the follow up film from director Julio Medem, who made some splashes back in 1998 with his film The Lovers from the North Pole (1998), which was a film that worked backwards from the beginning and end only to meet in the middle.

 

It is within this second novel that Lorenzo begins writing himself into the story, which as viewers we become aware of.  The story is quite jaded and fragmented as we weave in and out of the past and the present.  Not only that, but we are also exposed to the constant blending of the films fantasy and reality.  We are absorbed by the characters and they bookmark us to the plot as we are twisted around for two hours.  The film does involve a decent portion of sex, which in the R-rated version has been toned down to some extent.  In some ways this film works on the same level of David Lynch’s erotic puzzler Mulholland Drive (2001).   

 

Palm Pictures has released Sex and Lucia onto DVD in two versions, R-rated and an unrated version as well, which included more of the sexual nudity and explicit scenes.  The film was shot digitally using a Sony HDW-F900 camera (also used on Star Wars Episode II) and then transferred with a HDCAM (1080p) (24p), with a 2.35:1 letterbox aspect ratio.  For the DVD the scope ratio has been anamorphically enhanced.  The choice for digital for this film was all wrong though especially considering the amount of outdoor light and the sun scenes on the island.  These scenes alone prove why film still works better.  The overall detail quality is not bad, but the color is what suffers the most especially during certain over-exposed outdoor scenes.  Although this is one of the better digitally shot films in terms of its overall presentation, it did not serve a film like this at it should have. 

 

The 5.1 Dolby Digital Spanish audio track works well for this film presenting the film with adequate ambience and directional sounds that give the viewer the enclosed feel.  The DVD also contains a ‘making of’ feature, which includes some cast and crew interviews.  The presentation of this film alone on DVD is quite nice with some bonus material that allow for it to take advantage over any VHS copy. 

 

Sex and Lucia offers a rather fresh look or even an updated look from the male/female recollection of sex.  Also take for example The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), the love triangle nature of the relationship presented in that film, as well as the way in which ‘sex’ was the mediator between the couples.  Without this act, some relationships become actually set up in those terms.

 

 

-   Nate Goss