Sex & Lucia [Blu-ray] [2001] [US Import]

(Slight word of warning, if necessary: this is just over 2 hours long, and being with subtitles and full of dialogue, much attention is needed thoughout)

Sensually the film has much to enjoy - the mediterranean sunshine, beaches, plenty of (often naked) eye candy for both sexes, and a decent soundtrack with notably a piano playing at 'significant' points in the flim

As others have commented the film revolves mainly around half-a-dozen late twenty-somethings and their intertwinings, emotional and physical, with a couple of very explicit sex-scenes both with brief (blink and you'll miss them) pornographic moments. But I'm going to sound a bit pretentious and suggest that the other viewers have mostly missed the main theme of the film

Although Lucia (and the sex) major in the film the main character for me is Lucia's boyfriend, Lorenzo. And what does Lorenzo do? He's a writer! And what do (fiction) writers do? They make things up! And that to me is what this film is really about - the art/process of writing, using imagination, making things up, and living/not living in what others see as the real world

Arguably the writer and director of the film are indulging themselves regarding the creative/writing process: its benefits (for the writer) and the effects it has on their lives and other people they know, and the rest is essentially subtext. Both Lorenzo and Elena separately say something like: " .... the beauty is you can stop half-way through and start again". Stop and restart what? What is the signifcance of the hole in the beach? Is anything/anyone ever actually seen there? Where does a writer, or anyone when 'creating', go? At one point Lorenzo, seeing the effect his story/writing has on Lucia, dashes off saying: "I must kill them off!" With a gun? 'Course not, but with his keyboard

Near the end of the film Elena is seen looking at Lucia, Lorenzo, and his friend Pepe. Seconds later, at the exact same place, the three have vanished, and instead we see her looking through a doorway at a computer tucked away in the corner of an adjacent room. So where have they gone, and how? Hardly difficult to work out, surely

Utimately this is another film where arty types are talking about themselves and what they do. It's okay I guess, (especially if the creative/arts world is your scene), and i'd recommend it for watching at least once, with its mix of scenery, sex, inter-personal drama, etc, but essentially it's ALL a story - a story within a story

Julio Médem's follow up to Lovers of The Arctic Circle covers similar themes of love, loss and chance meetings but manages to feel very different. The desolate snowy landscape is replaced with more traditionally romantic beaches and moonlit seas as a lush island becomes the focal point for a story which begins and ends there...

Driven by grief, Lucia travels to the island her boyfriend often spoke about before she found his suicide note and received a phone call from the police. The film mixes chronology so that we get to see how Lucia and Lorenzo first met, she being a stalking fan of the author and declaring her love for him when they first spoke - it's a relationship initially based on passionate spontaneity. The film initially focusses on the importance of the sexual side of their relationship, cynics may believe this simply to be an excuse to cram lots of bare flesh into the film but the scenes are genuinely sensual rather than just sexual. Through their sexual activity we see how close they are, it's not just rampant shagging - we see intimacy, and playfulness - messing around with a Polaroid camera demonstrates the sense of fun which exists between the couple, and a saucy striptease descends into pure comedy when Lorenzo reciprocates and puts on a show. This is a couple very much in love and enjoying each other's company.

Given that we see the apparent end of Lorenzo at the beginning of the film, we know that his life is surely one tinged with tragedy and a sexual encounter years previous sets events in motion which sees three main characters and their own very personal stories become linked. There is a reliance on coincidence in Sex And Lucia, implausible moments which fit into the overall narrative too easily, but this feels like a dark fairy-tale and the film just about manages to get away with it. In addition to the duality of the timelines, a third story takes place inside Lorenzo's novel - a story which blends together elements of reality which sometimes seem more like fiction. The title of this film may be a literal translation but the emphasis changes and it doesn't quite fit - it suggests that sex and Lucia are the main components of the film when in actuality Lorenzo is probably the main character and the sex in the title isn't always with Lucia. Sex plays an important part and the repercussions of it help to tie together a set of characters as their stories converge.

This was filmed in HD but so far there is no European Blu-Ray release (There is a Region A encoding American release) which is a shame as the level of detail at times is high, with scenes involving faces and skin looking very good and no doubt will be incredible on Blu-Ray. DVD extras are sparse with filmographies for three of the actors, some film notes and a trailer. The film notes are 6 pages of text which analyse the film and make comparisons to Médem's Lovers Of The Arctic Circle. Interestingly it details how this started off as a lightweight project but eventually saw 2 scripts merged into one and although I wasn't expecting much from this bonus, it was a fascinating and well structured read.

In a nutshell: Non-linear films can sometimes be a challenge to watch, but Sex And Lucia isn't overly surreal and the way the film subtly shifts perspective so that we see things through different characters eyes help to keep the story fresh. There's a lot of nudity as you expect from a Médem feature and sex is used to symbolise intimate connections, it works well and the film satisfyingly ties up loose ends just when you feel it is starting to lose coherence.

This film is beautiful. It takes the viewer on a painful but incredibly rewarding journey, somehow effortlessly getting away with convenient plot twists which would be impossible to not view cynically in any other film. The craftsmanship of Julio Medem is as expected second to none, and his creation is one of the most original films I have experienced. Excellent acting, stunning cinematography, and a story which touches your soul. I cannot recommend 'Lucia y el sexo' highly enough.