Looking beyond Sex and Lucia ("Sex and Lucia" film review)

             First impression lasts. This cliché works almost all the time, but not for this movie. What we see in the beginning is not the whole story. In the same manner, the title, “Sex and Lucia,” does not say it all.

            In the first part of the movie, you might be like, “What is this kind of movie? Why is it all porn and stuffs? Where’s the story now?!” Yes, I reacted that way. I found it irrelevant to see the male protagonist, Lorenzo making love to a random girl named Elena, then Elena getting pregnant and came looking after Lorenzo not knowing that the guy had already found a lover in the person of Lucia, the said-to-be main character of the film. I also thought that all the make-love scenes made no sense at all. I made a hasty generalization that it was only one of those ordinary movies that made use of sex in order to make the bland movie look interesting. But I was wrong. The latter parts were outstanding. I later found out that it was an intellectual and a psychological movie, not a pornographic one.

            Thumbs up for the director’s style. He used a style that is unknown to the minds of the viewers. It was strategic, because he used sex in the beginning just to hook up the interest of the audience and when he had already done so, the real story began. And many were pleased. According to Joe Yang in his article, “Once the plot starts thickening the tone changes so much that you might wonder if you're still watching the same film. And once that happens, the sex scenes from before start feeling out of place.” The director’s concept of the “hole,” that brings you back to the middle of the story, was also attention-grabbing, despite the fact that it only made the story confusing. It was not just a simple flashback. It was really a hole that never ended the story. In addition, the links between the characters were quite complicated and almost impossible, but the director still managed to do it.

            The use of music and sound effects was also good. There was timing in the use of it. Sound montage was used. First was the sound made by Lucia while having sex with Lorenzo, which eventually turned into the pained cry of Elena while she was giving birth. Another was the sound that Lorenzo’s mouth made which metamorphosed into the sound of seawater.

            Just like most, if not all movies, “Sex and Lucia” contained symbols and symbolisms as well. One was the seawater, which was the start of life and the end of it through death. It could be perceived in the case of Luna, the daughter of Lorenzo and Elena. She was conceived in the water and her death, although it did not happen in water, was equated to drowning. The second symbol found in the film was the literal hole itself. It served as the bridge that linked the past to the future and vice versa. Another symbol was the dog that killed Luna. It symbolized its loyalty to Belen’s order which was to “keep watch outside.”

            The film was disturbing in a good way. It will make you think even after you have finished watching it. If you’re tired of the usual films that you see in cinemas today, this is the perfect one for you. But I just have this little advice for you to remember. Be sure that your mind is mature enough when you watch this movie, because there are really scenes that will leave you speechless because of its extreme obscenity. Brace yourselves!