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MOVIES

Live Flesh
MBM Rating:
HOT ALERT: Liberto Rabal

The surprising interaction between a man just out of jail and the people who wrongfully put him there.

Live Flesh is really a mystery. The core of Live Flesh lies in the complexity of how these five individuals interact. They are all wrapped in a web of consequences, with each one hurting the others multiple times, and the strands around them growing ever thicker. These are rich, believable individuals involved in relationships that defy the facile conventions of what movies typically present as romances, friendships, and rivalries. The ending is surprising, not because it doesn't fit, but because, knowing all that we do about the involved parties, it's the perfect way to offer closure to the tale.

For Live Flesh's leads, the director, Almodovar (Globe winning director Talk to her), gives us five strong performers. The one who leaves the strongest impression is Italian actress Francesca Neri, who, as Elena, successfully balances fear, pity, and a deeply-rooted sense of longing. As Clara, Angela Molina (one of the stars of Luis Bunuel's 1977 masterpiece, That Obscure Object of Desire) essays a woman looking for a little tenderness and a way out. Of the three men, Javier Bardem (Jamon Jamon) has the most difficult part -- showing the dark side of a person we naturally have sympathy for.

Jose Sancho smolders as the violent, conflicted Sancho, and, in the role with the most screen time, Liberto Rabal shows that while he may have the look and physique of a model, he has talent as an actor. In a brief prologue, Penelope Cruz (Belle Epoque) has a cameo as Victor's mother.

Time and time again, Live Flesh shows that "true love" is overrated. The married couples in this film love each other, but they're hopelessly, helplessly trapped: one by a cycle of violence and the other by unwanted pity and selfless tolerance. Obsessive sex opens the door to freedom.

One of the most delicious aspects of Live Flesh is its keen sense of irony. There's also a fair amount of humor, some of which borders on the absurd (consider the scene where two men, who are exchanging blows, pause in the midst of their struggle to cheer when Spain scores a goal in a soccer game being shown on TV).

Yet there is never a time when Almodovar's appreciation of offbeat comedy endangers the integrity of the characters or the story. Like the gorgeous cinematography (which is used to good effect to eroticize a sex scene), this is all part of Almodovar's stylistic package. Never has it been more impressive than here, where everything (not just the flesh) is vibrant with life.

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