A Major Disappointment

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Bigas Luna's 2001 film SON DE MAR is a tragic tale of sex and death on the southeast coast of Spain. The dashing Ulises (Jordi Mollà) moves to a seaside village to teach literature, and soon begins a relationship with the alluring Martina (Leonor Watling), the daughter of his landlord. After marriage and children, Ulises wants his freedom back, so he takes off into the unknown, and Martina remarries with Sierra (Eduard Fernández), the wealthy property investor who has pursued her the whole time. Ulises's return after several years creates a love triangle with sordid consequences.This is essentially a soap opera, and one that relies on sex scenes far too much in order to pass the time. How much sex is here? Well, by the end of the film (or even at the midpoint), a nude Leonor Watling will no longer seem especially enticing. That must be the very definition of overdoing it. Still, it has a few elements that elevate it above total vacuity. For one, Ulises seduces Martina by quoting from the Aeneid, and though his repeated use of the same quotation to do so becomes tiresome, it's rather novel that Virgil's dusty old text is exploited for erotic potential. Also, Bigas Luna has a knack for writing tragedy in the conventional sense (protagonists with a fatal flaw), and the ending is quite memorable.

it is not a great film. only a Bigas Luna. romantic, sexy, dramatic, cruel. victim of clichés , saved buy Eneida quote, it is a beautiful not surprising film.its key - Bigas Luna vision about a story who has basic mixture of salt and honey. the slices of soap drama, the nuances of acting, the love scenes makes entire plot not realistic but decent for many of viewers. only problem - the expectations. the impression than the story is the same like many others. but the real virtue is only its role of clean story. not extraordinary , not amazing. only as a form of remember of pink novels and essence of not happy love stories. so, just a Bigas Luna. and a silk story about love.

At first I thought: oh come on, give me a break... The wandering, dreamy-eyed young teacher, the pouting, rap-music-blasting village Lolita sucking oranges, the white panties on the clothes-line, could you be any more clichéd? But then the story grew on me, with its many parallels to the Greek myths, so much so that I think I'll go back to the source and reread the original material. Some of the sea and water images reminded me of "Sex and Lucia" which I still prefer. Also, in the R-Rated version I rented from Blockbuster, the sex scenes must have been cut. Nothing spectacular, by far. So Bigas Luna likes breasts, but then again, we knew that already. ***1/2

Captivating cinematography. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about the script. It's romance at full speed. First thing you know, Ulises and Martina are getting married. But "from loving to not loving", the road is not as long as Ulises believes. Soon enough, Infidelity enters the room and does it's dirty job. We soon realize that Death is already in the room. But wait, she's feeling powerless today. One thing's for sure: it can take a long time to catch a tuna!Leonar Watling is sublime. She captures the screen every time she appears. But the rest of the cast is not as interesting. And there's some scenes where you really don't feel the emotion. After a while, I found myself looking at my watch every few minutes. A few times, I felt like shouting "I get the point!!! move on!" But I have to say that the last scene on the boat is quite surprising and captivating.Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 5th, 2006.71/100 (**)