Wonderful Movie

Sick Product of a Sick System

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

In Madrid, the teenager Lulu (Francesca Neri) has a crush on Pablo (Oscar Ladoire), who is the best friend of her brother Marcelo (Fernando Guillén Cuervo). One day, they go together to a concert and Lulu loses her virginity with Pablo. However, he travels to the United States and Lulu misses him.When he returns, they meet each other and Pablo proposes Lulu to marry him. Soon they befriend the travesty Ely (María Barranco) and play sexual games with her. Later they have a daughter, Ines.One day, after a party, Pablo blindfolds Lulu and proposes a threesome; when Lulu discovers that she had an incestuous relation with Marcelo, she leaves Pablo to live with Ines in an apartment. Lulu feels bored and soon she is addicted in kinky and bizarre sex with gays in the underground of Madrid. Her erotic journey descends to hell when she meets the dangerous Remy (Juan Graell) that invites her to the world of sadomasochism."Las Edades de Lulú" is a film by Bigas Luna immediately after the cult "Angustia" that discloses the erotic and dramatic journey of a Spanish woman to the underworld of the bizarre sex in Madrid. I saw this movie for the first time in the early 90's (last time was on 29 Aug 1999 on VHS), and today I have just seen it again on DVD and this film has not aged. Francesca Neri is very beautiful and sexy and I did not recall that "Las Edades de Lulú" is the debut of Javier Bardem in a feature. I would like to highlight that this movie is sexually violent and perverted reaching the boundary with pornography and is only recommended for very specific audiences. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "As Idades de Lulu" ("The Ages of Lulu")

Bigas Luna's movies are difficult to come by in the U.S., but judging from the few I've seen -- "Jamon, jamon," "Golden Balls," and "The Ages of Lulu" -- he could easily become one of my favorite directors. His movies aren't perfect by any stretch, but I like his direct approach to sexuality and his fondness for envelope pushing. And he really pushes it in "The Ages of Lulu," which takes the standard non-plot of most erotic dramas -- a woman's sexual awakening -- and takes it into dark, disturbing and daring realms. "Emmanuelle" this is not.Lulu (Francesca Neri) is a virginal teen in Madrid who's got a crush on her brother's friend Pablo (Oscar Ladoire). Pablo takes Lulu to a concert and quickly introduces her to oral sex, shaves her privates and, finally, takes her virginity. Then he's off to the U.S. When he returns Lulu is older but still smitten. After a painful introduction to anal sex, Pablo proposes. Once married, the couple spend most of their time having athletic sex. They pick-up Ely, a trannie hooker/Cher lookalike (played by female Maria Barranco, with some prosthetic help), and even though Ely ends up being a third wheel in the inevitable threesome, she ultimately befriends the couple. She even babysits when they have a daughter. But then one of Pablo's sex games goes too far and Lulu leaves him. On her own, she whiles away her days writing and watching bi-sexual porn videos. Intrigued by man-on-man action, she goes down to a sleazy gay bar and is soon involved in some intense sex play with three gay men (one of whom is played by a young Javier Bardem), who are paid for their services. She's a full-fledged sex addict, and like all addicts, she's going to hit bottom.I've read reviews of this movie that term the sex scenes as "near pornographic." I wouldn't go that far -- much of the action is darkly lit, with bare crotches often hidden in shadow -- though it's clearly in NC-17 territory, and clearly not a movie that would be made in the U.S. I suspect Luna's portraying homosexual activity in the same unflinching directness that he shows the hetero action may be the real reason people are labeling this movie "pornography" and "filth." But sex isn't "Lulu"'s problem; narrative is. It's hard to get a grasp on the movie's time frame: it appears to start in the 1960s, then goes directly to the late 1980s, bypassing the 1970s altogether. Lulu's never really defined beyond her sexuality, so she never quite connects as a character. When she leaves her husband she takes their young daughter, but then the girl disappears from her life -- and the movie -- completely. And why does the exploration of sexuality (particularly female sexuality) always have to have such dire consequences? Then again, maybe I'm over-analyzing. That's the problem with "Lulu": it doesn't always aim below the belt, but it can't seem to get its mind out of the gutter."The Ages of Lulu" may not be all that easy to watch, but like the Bigas Luna movies I've seen so far, it's even more difficult to forget.

Aptly described as "pretentious, repellent pornography," The Ages of Lulu is a film you really could do without. Indeed, not only does Spanish director Bigas Luna's (he of Jamón, jamón, Golden Balls and The Tit and the Moon fame) film fire hugely clear of the mark in its attempt at sexually heightened drama, it also suffers from a dodgy cast (Javier Bardem, what were you thinking?), lame acting and a wholly unrealistic plot. Not to put too fine a point on it, then, you'd be better served boiling your head than watching this hyper-sexual and highly explicit 'art house' trash.On the DVD: The Ages of Lulu is transferred at an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 and image quality is very good, though in some scenes very slightly soft. The film can be watched with or without English subtitles, and the sound is unremarkable stereo. The main extras are a seven-page essay on Bigas Luna and five pages detailing the now restored 110 seconds of cuts made to the 1998 video release. The main title still contains 65 seconds of alternate footage to the cinema original for legal reasons. Also included are filmographies of Lunas and Oscar Ladoire, two trailers plus trailers for six other films.

This is the story of a woman through told pretty much through her sex life. As the film progresses we watch as her life goes from one of normalcy to one on the fringes of "normal" society, and its a course mirrored by her sex life. It is a very lurid film that pretty much covers every sexual subject you can think of, and probably some you can't. Its a well made movie that is so close to being an explicit film that one wonders why they didn't bother to go all the way and not shy away from showing it all. But its not really about the sex, since this is a smutty film that has the belief that its about something other than just showing hot sweaty sex. I'm not sure if thats true or not. Actually I'm not sure what I think of this film. frankly its one of those movies that you see and aren't enthused by, but which you find yourself haunted by none the less. There is something about the film that keeps me wondering if its not better than I think it is. Then again it maybe the desire to see the hot sweaty sex again (It really is steamy)If you're not prudish and ready to deal with sex in all of its varieties then by all means dive in and give it a try. If you are offended by anything other than straight forward heterosexual sex, then stay away.