Too much of everything

To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Watching any film by Pedro Almodóvar is an enriching experience, an experience that teaches the viewers some new things about cinema and some new things about life. Live Flesh ("Carne tremula" in Spanish) is not exception. It is a film about passion and desire, it is a melodrama that makes more sense than life itself, it presents five characters whom we get to know by the end of the film better than our own family.The story has one prologue, one first chapter taking place twenty years later, more chapters in the contemporaneity (meaning 1997) and a prologue a few months later. A young woman (only appearance in this movie as a live person by Penélope Cruz) gives birth, it's the sleepy Madrid at the end of the Franco era, still a policy state, still hard to catch a taxi even if the streets at night are empty, so the birth takes place in a semi-hijacked bus. Twenty years later in bustling democratic Madrid two cops are called to a place where a young 20 years old pizza delivery boy (yes, that boy) has an altercation with a beautiful young prostitute. Shots are being fired, and one of the policemen is hurt and becomes crippled, not before drawing the attention of the young woman. A few years later the boy gets out of jail and plans to revenge the policeman who stole his youth. His revenge involves not only the woman but also the wife of the other cop. We are in full Almodovar melodrama, everybody is in love or makes sex with everybody else, it's not a romantic triangle but a love and passion pentagon. All funny and sexy, violent and endearingThe songs of Chavela Valdez inspired part of the story and the approach of Almodóvar. As in many other of his films he makes no moral judgment about the actions of his characters, but we feel that he cares about them all, and would like to make us care too. Although it's a mix of comedy and melodrama 'Live Flesh' never goes where we expect, because the director and story teller does not run away from mixing the beautiful and tend with the ugly and cruel aspects of life. Javier Bardem performs here in one of the best roles of his early career, and the rest of the team including Liberto Rabal, Francesca Neri, and Ángela Molina define each their characters, each of them with his or her own passion and aspiration to love. Although it is hazard that seems to trigger many of the events, the ending provides a fulfilling sensation. The divinity (I mean, of course, the film director) takes care of everything.

There are too many thrillers that want to be sexy and dramatic and stylish and smart, but with great disappointment, those "ands" turn into italicized "ors", as few artistic talents are capable of such an intricate juggling act. One too many Basic Instincts walk out the door all dressed down in crotchless interrogations with little value to be held in the long run. Some directors are so self-conscious that they feel the need to grab a megaphone and loudly inform us that, that's right, they are aiming to be sexy and dramatic and stylish and smart. If only those damn "ors" would get out of the way for once.Few filmmakers, however, have the gutsy panache of Pedro Almodóvar, who possibly was the result of a lab experiment involving Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Sirk, Brian De Palma, and the wardrobe of Endora from Bewitched. His films range from candy colored to smokily noiry, sometimes carrying the weight of a Technicolor Bringing Up Baby or a severely darkened vintage women's picture. Though slightly flagrant, his projects maintain the professionalism of an auteur who simply knows what the hell he's doing.Take a film like Live Flesh, which isn't quite sexy enough, soapy enough, violent enough, yet still manages to feel distinctly, no pun-intended, fleshed out. It's subdued, but it's carefully subdued. If we had the same old X-rated Sirk stuff like usual, we'd surely be tripping in a David LaChapelle styled hallucination. This time around, Almodóvar fabricates a complicated story of revenge, steamy trysts and deadly misunderstandings that hit all the right notes, even if those notes are all sharped and flatted; yet, it's his most mature film.The movie begins in 1970 with a theatrical birth in the back of a city bus; being welcomed into the world is Victor Plaza, the son of a prostitute (Penélope Cruz). Jump 20 years into the future: Victor (Liberto Rabal) is meeting Elena (Francesca Neri), a drug addict, for an impromptu date after hooking up a week previously. Elena was in the mood for a one-night stand, not a courtship — when Victor shows up to her apartment, she flies into a rage, threatening to shoot him in a fashion only Loretta Young could top. They get into a scuffle, leaving Elena unconscious while the gun flies out of her hands and accidentally fires.The downstairs neighbor hears, and, concerned, calls the police. The cops who arrive, the alcoholic, reckless Sancho (Jose Sancho) and the more proper David (Javier Bardem) attempt to calm the scene. Cut to yet another scuffle, David is shot in the back, paralyzed, while Victor is sent to prison for the next four years. But when he is released, he finds that David and Elena have married, leading to a series of events that could only be found in a classy telenovela.No matter how breathy and melodramatically enhanced the plot may at first sound, it is surely one of Almodóvar's most toned down films, both in terms of style and personality. Gone are the neons, artificial sets and delightfully wacky side-characters; gone is the tongue-in-cheek restlessness that made his films better-than-average Hollywood homages that were far too good to simply be called homages. In Live Flesh, you take him seriously, viewing him as a director who has had plenty of fun in the past but wants to make something as substantial as his peers. Looking back, the film marked a turn in his career, shifting towards heavyweights like All About My Mother in 1999 and Talk to Her in 2002.Not to suggest that Live Flesh is sapped of any pleasures. The storyline is pleasingly hammy, with touches of unexpected realisms like wheelchair basketball and domestic abuse, and the performances are finely tuned. Even better is the cinematography (clearly influenced by Almodóvar himself), which hangs onto the bodies of the actors like a fixated Michelangelo; whether they're silhouetted, in the nude, or clothed in cheetah prints, there is an added lustiness that heightens the frequent sexual tensions the film constantly revisits. Live Flesh is a sumptuously shot throwback of a romantic thriller, evidence of a director with pop arted ambitions taking a risky turn that pays off.

Pedro Almodovar has a distinct style of story-telling and character development. This is visible from the first scene of the movie itself where we see the birth of one of the characters in a public transport bus. For some, this scene may have no relevance to the behavior of the character or how the story shapes up, but still the scene is pretty much there. The rest of the movie is also filled with some unique scenes and developments which make the movie very much different from average thrillers. For example, there is a scene where two of the protagonists are face to face fighting each other with vengeance but suddenly stop and cheer together because their favorite player scores a goal. The plot is pretty average, but the direction and the actor's performances has enhanced it. Watch out for the aesthetically shot sex scenes as well. Javier Bardem is good playing a handicap and a passionate man. Liberto Rabal steals the show though with different shades to portray. Not one of Almodovar's best, but still an average watch.Rating : 7/10

Hey there everyone,"live flesh" is one of those fine movies which go through your mind days after the movie. Like all Almodovar's movies, this one also features desperate characters who cope with loneliness. Picture Victor, a young street kid who falls in love with a ravishingly beautiful woman (The Italian Francesca Neri) after a one night stand in a disco bathroom. He calls her and she rejects him in a mean, cold hearted way. What Victor doesn't know, is that Elena is actually a drug addict. Victor goes to her apartment for an explanation. There he gets entangled in a weird shooting accident with two cops, which leaves him in jail for seven years and a cop paralyzed. This cop (a young Javier Bardem) becomes a paralympics star and weds Elena. After his jail time Victor returns for Elena, but things have changed. Both David and Elena fear Victor, but he has no bad intentions. Even though Victor does try to get mingled back into the life of his former love. Victor also becomes involved with the other cop's (Sancho) wife and she (Clara) starts to fall in love with him. Victor and Clara make out constantly, but Victor stays in love with Elena. He finally confronts Elena about the injustices done to him in the past and her crucial role in it. He knows to seduce her for a one night and vows to never see her again. He dumps Clara later on, leaving her in tears. In agony she finally has to courage to escape her drunken husbands and his domestic beatings. Sancho (after a tip from jealous David) and Clara meet each other at Victor's house, which again leads to a shoot out. This time Victor escapes painful consequences. Elena runs to the house, hearing gunshots and screams out her love for Victor. Victor and Elena are reunited after 7 years and get a baby. This time things will turn out right for Victor. Spain has become a free country and his son will have a better future. In all of Almodovar's movies the characters are nice to watch (both in acting and appearance). The color use is always good and adds to the atmosphere of an intimate story. And if you don't like the story... Just check out the movie pure for the beautiful blue eyes of Francesca Neri. They express both a beautiful soul and an agonizing spirit.