Live Flesh . Newcity Chicago . 02-16-98

Live Flesh

DIRECTED BY: Pedro Almodóvar

REVIEWED: 02-16-98

Pedro Almodovar's excellent previous film, "The Flower of my Secret," was a mature, understated drama in the George Cukor mold, disappointing those who loved his hothouse style in movies such as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "Kika." Now, both Almodovars join to make the engrossing "Live Flesh" (Carne Tremula), a free adaptation of a Ruth Rendell mystery novel. Victor Plaza (Liberto Rabal), born on a Madrid city bus stopped on deserted streets during a 1970 crackdown by the Franco regime, is a doe-eyed, lush-lipped innocent who loses his virginity in a club washroom to Elena (Francesca Neri) the strung-out daughter of the Italian consul. Confronting her a week later, a chain of coincidences and a single gunshot eternally entangles Victor's life with that of the two policemen who come to Elena's rescue, as well as both their wives. Part of the great pleasure of "Live Flesh" is the particulars of its plotting, which I'll describe no further. But Almodovar's sexy soap opera of obsession and revenge is luminous in its view of Madrid, taking on the geometry of a specific city, not just in the harsh angles of soulless modern buildings, but also in the odd shapes formed by lights in distance, glowing classical edifices, circling views from buses, a city of floating, circling images. (During the immaculately choreographed face-off between Victor and policemen, there is a post-DePalma slow-motion 360-degree shot that puts the lie to any claim of mastery by that cold clinician of a director.) Almodovar scores the film with mad, unabashed songs of carnal vengeance, yet there is always time for grace notes, in decor, widescreen compositions, and especially in behavior, such as, after a night of unending sex, a woman sniffing her nude skin for the last traces, the last unguents of the other before she showers them away, committing the lover's scent to memory before confronting her husband. The characters growl morose lines like "No one ever owns his youth or the women he loves" but Almodovar well demonstrates why they feel that way. This is the kind of vigorous entertainment we should be able to go out and see any night of the week.

Full Length Reviews
Live Flesh
Live Flesh
Live Flesh

Capsule Reviews
Live Flesh

Other Films by Pedro Almodóvar
All About My Mother

Film Vault Suggested Links
The Saragossa Manuscript
Contempt
Saint Clara

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