Sex and Lucía (Julio Medem)

[pro-bassoonist]

Sex and Lucía Blu-ray

Sex and Lucía Blu-ray Review




Spanish director Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia (2001) is set to be released on October 12. Courtesy of Palm Pictures. Winner of Goya awards for Best New Actress (Paz Vega) and Best Original Score (Alberto Iglesias).

Eyeforfilm:

The sex is exhilarating and Lucia (Paz Vega) "a gift to this life." Spanish writer/director Julio Medem makes movies that twist in the wind - Cows, Earth, Lovers Of The Arctic Circle. They don't sit comfortably in categories. Neither are they genre clones. His visual imagination matches the originality of his ideas.

This time, he allows confusion to mess with the plot. Fact and fiction merge. The past and present are interchangable. The girl having sex in the sea is Elena (Najwa Nimri). The girl who falls down a hole in the beach is Lucia. The girl with the dangerous dog is Belén (Elena Anaya). The well-endowed man who covers himself in mud is Carlos (Daniel Freyre). The novelist who attracts all these women is Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa).

How do they fit together? With difficulty.

Lucia is a waitress who becomes infatuated with Lorenzo after reading his first book. They end up living together and having wild sex. Six years earlier, Lorenzo was enjoying a one night stand in the sea on his birthday under a full moon with a girl from Valencia he had never met. She is Elena who becomes pregnant and has the baby, whom she names Luna.

There is an island. Lorenzo talks of it to Lucia, but they never go there. After he commits suicide, or has an accident - you don't know which - Lucia takes the ferry to the island and rents a room in Elena's house. Luna is being looked after by Belen, for some reason, whose mother is a retired porn star, who lives with Carlos, who has occasional sex with Elena.

Because time is shuffled and scenes from Lorenzo's novel acted out, as if they are happening for real, it is hard to keep track. Sex and paella have a connection. Lorenzo has writer's block and then he doesn't. An incident occurs behind a door with Luna and the dog. Belen seduces Lorenzo, who knows he shouldn't. Lucia gazes longingly at Carlos, when she's not walking naked on the beach. The moon is full. Passions simmer.

The colours are bleached. The look of the film is unexpected and fascinating. Vega is the new Penélope Cruz. Freyre wins highest sex appeal points amongst the blokes, possibly because he's so enigmatic. Even if you don't understand what on earth is going on, this is a movie that will stimulate hours of post viewing discussion, if only to be reminded of who did what to whom and why.

Pro-B

[LordCrumb]

Has that cover been digitally censored? I think so..

[Show spoiler]

[logain74]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

Has that cover been digitally censored? I think so..

[Show spoiler]

Yea, that's the US DVD cover. Typical American censorship.

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

Has that cover been digitally censored? I think so..

[Show spoiler]

That's funny. It is fairly poorly censored too. It's pretty obvious manipulation.

I'm definitely intrigued by the movie, however that write up that Pro-B posted is certainly pretty confusing and scattered, and seems to not really divulge much of the story, but as I said I am still intrigued.

[Bluyoda]

I have been looking forward to this release, and glad it got a good review on this site. I did notice the over-blown whites when I saw it on DVD a few years ago, but that no doubt was an artistic choice by the director.

I think it's a really good movie, with some beautiful shots, and a fantastic ending that made me cry. , but it took me two viewings, because the first time I didn't get it.

The story is very intricately interwoven, and I lost track the first time, but the 2nd time I got it, and it's superb.

I highly recommend it!

There are some hot scenes as well. I particularly like the girl with the "special" mum. Wow!

Who else is getting this?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

Who else is getting this?

This is one of my favorite Spanish films from recent years, together with Bigas Luna's The Tit and the Moon (part of the Spanish New Wave).

I can't not recommend highly enough Sex and Lucia. It is an incredibly sensual and beautiful film, with a fantastic, very intelligent script.

Also, keep in mind that director Medem's A Room in Rome is coming out in the UK in a couple of weeks:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Room-...Blu-ray/14662/

Pro-B

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Also, keep in mind that director Medem's A Room in Rome is coming out in the UK in a couple of weeks:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Room-...Blu-ray/14662/

Pro-B

...bated breath...

[Veronica Mars]

I enjoyed the film well enough, but it didn't have much replay value for me. Vega was delightful in Spanglish but I guess she didn't like making "Hollywood" films, because I think that plenty of good roles would have followed but she didn't do much or anything that I can think of.

[McHugh]

I understand that there is an R rated version and an Unrated version. Which version is the Blu-ray?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by McHugh

I understand that there is an R rated version and an Unrated version. Which version is the Blu-ray?

The Unrated Version.

Pro-B

[Malik True]

Originally Posted by adrock41

That's funny. It is fairly poorly censored too. It's pretty obvious manipulation.

Uhh no it's not I think the clean up is very well done, if there was no photo of the altered shot you would not think otherwise...

[Banned User]

Blind buy. I liked the film very much. I thought the digital manipulation and the super high contrast shots would put me off, but they never bothered me. Good acting as well as a good story. Was not hard to follow at all as some reviewers suggested.

[Show spoiler]The only part I didn't like was the final end that suggested it was all just a book he was writing. Kind of negates the happy ending and everything else that happened throughout the movie. I understand it was done to make the audience think of it what they wanted, but to me it left very little for interpretation.

[masterrusell]

Hey guys! Anyone who has it can confirm if the English subtitles are forced or can be removed?

Thanks

[pro-bassoonist]

Hi masterrusell

The English subtitles on Sex and Lucía are optional. Just keep in mind that this is a Region-A "locked" disc.

Room in Rome is also out in the UK:



Pro-B

[masterrusell]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hi masterrusell

The English subtitles on Sex and Lucía are optional. Just keep in mind that this is a Region-A "locked" disc.

Room in Rome is also out in the UK:



Pro-B

Great! Thanks pro-bassoonist! and yes, I know it is a region locked A disc... Just need a disc like that to try the firmware that makes the Toshiba BDX-1200KE a region free player

And make my wife a happy woman is priceless love this movie)

Just 58 € from Amazon Spain!!! Best deal EVER.

[THE USER]

Paz Vega completely naked? Easy buy for me! jk

[THE USER]

Originally Posted by masterrusell

Great! Thanks pro-bassoonist! and yes, I know it is a region locked A disc... Just need a disc like that to try the firmware that makes the Toshiba BDX-1200KE a region free player

And make my wife a happy woman is priceless love this movie)

Just 58 € from Amazon Spain!!! Best deal EVER.

Your wife loves it? umm...ok?

[eddievanhalen]

Beware with how this (dreadful) picture looks, it was the First one to be shot on CineAlta in Spain.

[Dark Hueso]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

Beware with how this (dreadful) picture looks, it was the First one to be shot on CineAlta in Spain.

does the blu ray look bad though?

[eddievanhalen]

I don't know about how this looks on Blu ray, I saw it at the cinema back in the day (typical situation were some friends meet for going to the movies and the mayority decide what to watch), it wasn't a digital cinemal, it was run un conventional 35 mm, even like this it looked like crap.
But I can't be objective as Julio Medem is one of my most hated Spanish directors, I think his films are pretentious with a simplistic story on the foreground (I'm Spanish and I was born and raised in Spain, I live in Spain also), the other is Pedro "the whole world is gay" Almodovar.