There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Siesta is a most atmospheric film, almost dreamlike, you feel the Spanish heat while Ellen Barkin is stumbling through the pictures in confused despair. She wakes up lying on the roll way of an airport, not knowing where she is or how she got there. Her red dress is full of blood and she starts running... From there, an odyssey begins for her, with strongly impressive scenes of -not only sexual- passion. A bit confusing for the first time watching because of all the flashbacks, when you watch the film a second time you can really enjoy it. Many stunning actors, who appear to join Ellen without really helping her situation, only dragging her deeper in confusion. A surprising end, all of a sudden you begin to understand what happened to Ellen and why she lost her memory. This film left such a strong impression on me that i still recommend it to all of my friends and other movie fans.

Has everything going for it as a cult film. Plot, cast, music... As said in the other comment, it stands solid against time. Every time I manage to see it, I get struck by it as if I see it the first time. I think this is one masterpiece that re-makers of old movies will never attempt.By the way, I once looked for the book in London UK and a second-hand book dealer close to St Martin's Lane checked a catalog and claimed there is no such book and would not listen to me... Few year's later, I found multiple copies (Penguin too) in Toronto Canada ! Wonder if the book did not get published in UK ?

This is a wacky, extreme, insane movie. When she isn't stalking around in a black leather jacket emblazoned with a bald eagle, Barkin is running madly through Spanish streets in a flaming red dress. She wants to sleep with Gabriel Byrne (who doesn't?), who's married to Isabella Rosselini, who wields a knife, while Julian Sands lowers his trousers for Jodie Foster, who kisses Ellen Barkin on the lips. There isn't much sensuality, but there are countless tragically, monumentally bad lines. This is a masterpiece of bad taste, kitsch, bad accents, etc. And Barkin is often naked, putting it in five star territory.Did Ellen Barkin kill someone? Was Jodie Foster cloned from Myrna Loy? Who is the most beautiful man alive, Byrne or Sands? These and ten more profound questions are posed over the course of Mary Lambert's "Siesta."

On 4th July, Claire (Ellen Barkin) wakes up semi-naked with amnesia in a field in a Spanish airport. She runs to the road, trying to figure what has happened with her. She recalls the events along the last five days of her life, culminating in the amazing truth. This odd and intriguing movie is the work of the excellent Mary Lambert before `Pet Sematary'. The original non-chronological screenplay is supported by a cast that is indeed a constellation: the delicious and sexy Ellen Barkin leads the cast, with a wonderful interpretation (and what a beautiful body!) in the role of Claire, followed by names like Isabella Rossellini, Martin Sheen, Jodie Foster, Gabriel Byrne and Julian Sands. The music of Miles Davis gives a touch of class to a story full of mystery, romance and drama. In 1990, Adrian Lyne used the same idea to develop the also excellent `Jacob's Ladder'. Further, the idea of recovering memory by steps was recently used in outstanding `Memento'. I am impressed how this movie is underrated in IMDB. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): `Marcas de uma Paixão' (`Marks of a Passion')