Lie back and think of Spain

10 April 2012

Julio Medem's incomprehensible story of lovers (Tristan Ulloa, Paz Vega) lost in time (then and now), place (Madrid and Formentera) and the delirium of physical bonking left me completely outside what I could fathom of its pretentious maunderings.

It is curiously old-fashioned - lovers taking Polaroids of one another's backsides - and even the hard-core inserts - penises are on the rise all over European cinema just now - will hardly compensate voyeurs for having to listen to the sort of endless verbal flirtatiousness that falls to pieces when put in subtitles. It's been described as "ravishingly beautiful" to look at. I found it not so. The video photography bleaches scenes at the beach, so that they look in need of high-factor sun block; while the video camera, never needing to "cut" like one using film stock, simply allows scenes to run on far, far too long.

Like that once-revolutionary tool for writers, the word processor, whose easy utility has strung out many a good novel way past its optimum length, high-definition video is going to be the ruin of plenty of promising feature films before it is the making of them.

Sex & Lucia (Lucia Y El Sexo)
Cert: 18

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