Customer Reviews

Sex and Lucia [VHS]

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The first time I saw Sex and Lucia I was a bit shocked. I had never seen a film so sexually explicit (it even shows two erections, oral sex, and masturbation!). I couldn't watch it, it was too porn. Then I rented it a secong time and I sat through the whole movie. Boy was I dead wrong!! What an excellent movie! It has a very good plot with twists and all, great pacing (considering some spanish films are really long, slow and sometimes boring and plotless), breathtaking cinematography, excellent actors and creative erotism. I was so pleased with the movie that I decided to buy it. If you're too close minded and offended by explicit nudity then this movie is not for you. For other seeking movies outside the Hollywood Special Effects w/no plot-or-good-actors-whatsoever-movies this one is really worth it!

SEX AND LUCIA is an absolutely brilliant blend of sex and story, of plot and circumstance, of reality and the art of crafting fiction around it. The film mesmerizes in its wonderfully poignant and wild portrayal of unabashedly adult sex while equally balanced with mature themes surrounding the human condition exploring life and liveliness ... and I've never seen anything quite like it before.

Sumptuously photographed on tropical islands not overloaded with lush foliage, SEX AND LUCIA vacillates between several storylines -- all uniquely intertwined by Lucia's exploration to find happiness and Lorenzo's quest to understand the life hidden behind the art of his writing. The two meet under terrifically charged circumstances, and their lives together reach a feverish intimate crescendo.

However, Lorenzo begins to fathom the consequences of the life he's led, leading him on a quest to understand who he is and how he could possibly have reached a new low in his life. Happiness thwarts his talents, and, instead, he allows the moments of human weakness he's experienced to drive him as emotionally low as a human being can possibly slip ... to the brink of death.

In the meantime, Lucia flees, unable to cope with the reality of Lorenzo's possible fate, and inadvertantly discovers that the life she's been leading is secretly intertwined with others, much in the way good novels unfold.

Note quite a "date movie" (though I'm sure it might serve some inspiration), SEX AND LUCIA is intended for adult audiences.

SEX AND LUCIA is a wonder. Not since the amazing films of Alain Renais has there been a film so emersed in physical beauty, in bewildering undertones, in challenging paths for the viewer to let go of the world as we see it and discover places and feelings once the sole territory of the Surrealists. This magical movie resembles Renais' LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD but it is in color, is much more advanced in its sexuality, and fleshes out its story with more profound philosophical views. The cast is very fine without focusing on well known actors (in this country at least) to provide a prejudged concept of the characters examined. The women and men are beautiful, senusous, and vulnerable. And aside from the dual presentation of a love and passion tale, this movie addresses our perception of memory, of passion altering how we walk through life, and of the consequences of the decisions we make. A stunning film.

Although there is a lot of sex in this story and there is a woman named Lucia, the title and marketing campaign are somewhat misleading as it's less about sex of sexual liberation than it is about life, possibilities, dreams, and almost any topic under the sun.

In a nutshell, I simply loved everything about this movie and it is one of the best movies that I've ever seen. I won't give much away as I hate it when reviewers/previews tell you what you should be seeing first-hand.

I can say that the movie unfolds beautifully like a great fairy-tale/dream sequence/life experience and that the specifics of the plot and circumstance are less important than every single character in the movie. The performances are stellar, the direction is as good as I've seen, the music is beautiful, the cinematography is innovative and better than I've ever seen, and (unlike almost every single movie) I had no idea where the movie was heading.

The movie opens with one of the most romantic and beautiful scenes in movie history and it does not let you go until the final frame. I won't spoil some of the poetic images that you'll encounter, but trust me you'll want to see this movie again just to experience it visually.

This is without a doubt a movie for adults and not solely because of the explicitness of the sex but because the themes are for mature audiences. As I watched this movie, I kept asking myself how Hollywood would have botched up this movie as there are very few movies for adults and even fewer that are this compelling with out being pretentious.

I've recently began watching more Spanish speaking movies and I am surprised by the how movies from Spain and recently Mexico and Argentina are kicking Hollywood's butt, not only due to content but in looking like a million bucks without spending them.

I just saw this movie and I can't wait to see it again. Keep in mind that the sex is very explicit and although I said it's an adult movie, I'd recommend seeing it with people from your own generation. In other words, I would not see this movie with my parents, although I would highly recommend it to them.

Ok. To start things off, I will say that "Sex and Lucia" is VERY deserving of its unrated rating - a lot of the scenes in the film look as though they deserve to be in a x-rated flick. However, there is one thing that separates this film from an x-rated one: a good story.

A lot of films (especially foreign ones) that have a lot of sexually-explicit material in them seem to use the sex to sell the film; they might as well just say in the trailers, "Look at us! We're being risque! We dare you to watch this and not blush! Wanna see an adult film, but are too embarrassed to? Come see this instead!" But "Sex and Lucia", or in its native Spanish language "Lucia y el Sexo", is nothing like that. Yes there are many scenes that could make one blush, and yes most of those scenes are gratuitous. But what saves this film from being like all the rest is the fact that the plot is interesting. And at about half-way through when I thought I maybe knew what would happen in the end, I was proved wrong when I finished the whole movie - and was pleasantly surprised.

Lucia is a young woman who falls in love with a writer named Lorenzo. She tells him she loves him about two minutes after introducing herself. The two move in together, and what follows are the above-mentioned blush-worthy scenes. But once the film gets past all the racy stuff, what lies beneath is really a great love story, that has some tragedy thrown in for good measure.

The film is more than two hours, but I didn't even notice - there were really no boring parts that I can remember. A soundtrack plays softly in the background, and even though you barely notice it, you are very aware of it and it sets the mood for the film. The location where a lot of the film was shot (in the scenes on the island) is beautiful and at times distracts you from the actors. And speaking of the actors, they all did a top-notch job. Now, I have seen a lot of foreign films, but this is one of the best. "The Piano Teacher" is another provocative unrated foreign film, but that one left me frustrated and depressed. By the end of "Sex and Lucia", I had a smile on my face. I think the ending will be a little surprising to some people, because it was not at all what I was expecting - it was perfect. I just rented it and watched it today, but I will definitely be purchasing it. I recommend this film to anyone who loves a good story, who doesn't mind subtitles and, oh yeah, someone who doesn't blush so easily.

An amazing film... lush & beautifully filmed, so much more to this movie than just "sex"... yes, there are one or two graphic moments (extreme only to us repressed americans)... but there is so much here to bask in-- beautiful mediterranean locations, a complex & wonderfully structured story, great performances -- i could go on & on... it simply reminds me of all that a film can be, and as all great film, it demands repeated viewing... the director tackles so many themes & successfully guides us through the catharsis... this is truly one of my favorite foreign films of all time -- DVD presentation is beautiful, 2.35 widescreen & a good DD 5.1 soundtrack, highly recommended -- don't listen to the uptight fools who call it "soft porn"-- if you think it's a sex movie, you missed it completely

suspense and wonderment...the thing about this film is that you have to pay attention and have an open mind. if a predictable film is what you want this is not at all for you. the way the story of the island is told makes you want to follow the rabbit just like alice did in that childhood fantasy years ago... and start from the middle again.... this film has absolutely nothing to do with alice, just a metaphoric babble moment...
sensuality, memory, love, dreams, photography, art, romance, intercorse, penitration{in more ways than any other film i've ever seen on the shelves of blockbuster before} ,twists and turns, i could not even get up to pee, this is a fantastic film. the soundtrack is awesome as well. the actors played their characters so well that it could have been a silent film...you get the message...this has to b e one of the most beautiful foreign films that i have watched in a very long time...eyecandy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sex and Lucia - (2001)

Review By - Chad Peter

Film Rating: ****

DVD Rating: ****

Directed By - Julio Medem
Written By - Julio Medem

Starring - Paz Vega, Tristán Ulloa, Najwa Nimri
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Film Review

Wow.

This is an instance of not knowing exactly what to think about the overarching feel of a film. Sex and Lucia was a refreshing step in many directions all at once, and quite possibly all of them heading in every direction but south. Sexuality is revitalized, alternate universes are intertwined, and cinematography is quite visionary all at once. This is not an American film and this is not a porno. There are on screen handjobs and sexuality that an American audience would never expect to see come out of a Hollywood film, or even an American Independent film for that matter -- and yet here it has been done in an amazingly striking way -- very lucid and artfully erotic.

Drawing from the experience of a single viewing, I can say one thing: The story may not be entirely understood in one sitting. Sex and Lucia is something that will need to be seen again, at least once, to fully understand the linear plotline. And yet, we don't particularly need the linear plotline because we understand enough of it to know the bare bones of what is going on -- and more importantly we can easily connect to the train of emotions and follow along that way. Simply trying to disect the film down into a "what happens in what order" line will leave a viewer frustrated, and most definitely this was not how the film was intended to be on a visual level. The images are quite stunning and transcendental at times, leaving a flow to the movie not unlike the film's opening visuals set under the sea -- without these images, the film would be dank and stale, and yet with the images, the film is transformed into something rather awe-inspiring and visually astounding.

Sex and Lucia is the story of a writer's story inside a story, or so I think. There are many overlapping discontinuities jumping around through time and space, from alternate universe into reality and so on and so forth. We know that many of these alternate realities could be false in comparison to reality, and yet they are based on reality, so we aren't quite sure what's real and what is false. Fortunately, it isn't the storyline we're emersed in so much as we're emersed in the beauty of what's occuring before our very eyes. The sexuality presented in this serious fashion is something we've never seen on screen (to my knowledge), certainly not at this quality. By watching this, I wasn't sure to believe that somehow as humans we are beginning to reach the next plateau of sexuality, or rather that only a small group is reaching this plateau while the rest of humanity casts them out of the loop. This raises several social questions, especially in our undersexed American population, which teases its audiences but denies them the things that they naturally should be seeing without thinking it as perverse. Perhaps one day we'll all reach that higher plateau of sexuality, but as of now, I foresee nothing more than further supression leading into violence and other unnatural problems.

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DVD Review

The DVD's video quality is absolutely astounding because there was no transfer involved. Much to my surprise, Sex and Lucia was not shot on film, but rather it was shot on HD 24P (Video). At the beginning there were moments where the characters movements looked like video, and yet at the same time, I was thinking "there's no way this couldn't be film" because of the lushness of the colors and the depth of the images. For all those who claim film is the first and will always be the foremost of visual quality, this should act as a slap in the face, and as a precursor step to the next level of visual photography. The result here is really quite beautiful to watch.

Sex and Lucia's soundtrack is wonderfully timed and choreographed throughout the story. The beauty of shooting on video, is that it allows for MORE footage to be shot, equally allowing for more flexibility in the editing room, and ultimately more creativity is allowed when meshing images with music and sound. There is something illuminary about this soundtrack and score, and it is well represented by the disc's dolby 5.1 track.

This is the kind of DVD disc that we wish every DVD was like. The only thing missing is a director's commentary track -- but since the director is Spanish and may not even speak english, we'll cut him some slack. Where the special features make up for the loss however, is with the multitude of other included features, including a fairly insightful "Making-Of" documentary, and several cast & crew interviews. Also crammed onto this disc are cast & crew biographies, trailers (for this and other films), a large photo gallery, soundtrack info & excerpts, and web links. Now if only more DVDs were this jam-packed with stuff.

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DVD & Film Info

Studio Distributor(s) - Canal+ España, Palm Pictures, et al.

Theater Release Date - (08/24/2001)
DVD Release Date - (03-25-2003) - Region 1

Release Price - $24.99 US.

Film Length - 128 Minutes
Rating - Not Rated. Includes sexual content not usually seen outside of porno films in American.
Initial Country of Release - Spain
Initial Language of Release - Spanish
Alternate Version - "R" Rated Version, runs two minutes shorter than the Unrated version, and probably ruins the film's sexual tone greatly.

DVD Features - The Making of Sex and Lucia Featurette, Photo Gallery, Soundtrack Excerpts, Cast Interviews, Cast Biographies, Theatrical Trailers, Palm Pictures Previews, Web Links.

Video - Widescreen 1.85:1 Color

Audio - SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1, SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo

Subtitles - English, French

Additional Film and/or DVD Notes - Sex and Lucia is a visionary look into a more natural world.

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3 Similar Films -
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Tacones lejanos
La Double vie de Véronique

This is a complex film with bits of drama, eroticism, fantasy, and the quest built in. Moreover, time, place, person, and even identity shift throughout the film, preventing the viewer from establishing a sense of grounding. The film itself is much like the island in the story: it is full of holes and caves that connect back, but ultimately nothing connects to the "reality" of Earth. Intellectually, it is playful and enjoyable.

One aspect of this film is its visual impact. Many of the scenes of the island are absolutely gorgeous, reinforcing the idea that there is something magical about it. This is also a film full of "beautiful people" in that the people who fill the screen are carefully chosen - never old, fat, or ugly. However, the scenes also tend to be quiet and personal, without crowds, large landscapes, or superfluous details. Visually, it is a treat.

As for the plot, there is a bit of a David Lynch, modern surrealist feel to much of it. We are introduced to Lucia in the midst of tragedy: after she fights with her boyfriend, Lorenzo, he is involved in an accident. The rest of the film alternates between a history leading to the fight and Lucia's attempts to recover from her loss. The magic here is how writer/director Julio Medem presents the interwoven threads.

The island plays a central role in both Lorenzo's history and Lucia's future. In the midst of the intertwined stories we learn about the island, Elena (a woman who unexpectedly ties Lucia and Lorenzo together), and Luna (Elena and Lorenzo's daughter). The latter provides the catalyst for Lorenzo's descent as he becomes obsessed with her, her sitter (Belén), and the tragedy that claims her. The story of Belén, in turn, provides a series of twists and characters that lead back to Lucia and the island. Emphasis is placed on twists, as characters "become" and parallel each other in just-shy-of-confusing fashion. The effect of this undermines the viewer's confidence in the reality of what occurs (both in the history and on the island). It also provides a fairy-tale feel to the film.

One other aspect of this film worth noting is the "Sex" half of the title. Sexy scenes aboud, particularly in the first portion of film, and some of these are fairly explicit, but after awhile they really don't seem to add anything to the film. That isn't to say that they are simply there as gratuitous eroticism, but that the "Lucia" portion of the film could quite easily stand on its own without them. Only a few, such as the moonlight conception scene, really seem tightly coupled to the story, whereas others verge on beating a dead horse. Frankly, I feel that better integration here would have made this a stellar film.

Overall, this is an excellent film, with great writing, fantastic photography, and engaging acting. If you enjoy modern fairy tales such as Amelie, the surrealism of directors such as David Lynch, or the personal feel of films such as Michael Radford's Il Postino, then this is a highly recommended film.

Sex And Lucia is one of the best films I've seen in recent memory, and I have seen MANY movies in recent memory. It is a pleasure these days to have a film so fully realized,so organically acted,and so beautifully woven together through a series of loose ends to come to a glorious,and emotional finale.As if that weren't enough,the film is also simply gorgeous to look at, and offers absolutely scrumptious natural images.
And it was almost shocking to see sex portrayed in such a natural,tender light.If you're hoping for a soft core porn movie with little plot involved, I couldn't recommend anything less.Sex in this film is used not to fulfill the viewer's libido, but to paint a picture of a blossoming,loving relationshop between two people.But I think the title is misleading and the trailer for this film was misleading because this film is not about sex.Yes, there is a plentiful amount of it(which would only be a shock to us sexually sheltered Americans), but this film is honestly not about sex.What is it about?It's about people, and coincidence,and circumstance,love,depression,heartache,betrayal- sex is just a factor in the film but not a subject.This is an absolutely wonderful film, which moves at a slow pace, but is fully rewarding at the end.Sex and Lucia is a film that I would recommend to ANY person on the planet who loves great films.Well, you're in for a treat because this one is remarkable.