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Intacto review
:. Director: Carlos Fresnadillo
:. Starring: Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusebio Poncela
:. Running Time: 1:44
:. Year: 2002
:. Country: Spain
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A fascinating incursion into a troubling world where luck is courted like an unforeseeable and capricious mistress, Intacto bathes the audience in an atmosphere that is both strange and poetic.
Federico (Eusebio Poncela), the sole survivor of a plane crash, succumbs to the promise of an easy life when Tomás (Leonardo Sbaraglia) proposes that he become his associate. Tomás introduces him to a very closed circle where exceptionally lucky people confront each other in high stake games of chance. In an ultimate test, Federico will have to face the Russian roulette "champion" Samuel (Max von Sydow), a concentration camp survivor who lives as a recluse in a casino in the middle of the desert.
By approaching chance in a simple and esoteric manner, Spanish director (and co-writer) Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has created a pure and intriguing film of great beauty. The rhythm is posed and the film, stripped of all spectacular artifice, concentrates on psychological construction and suggestion. The bet is successful since not only does Intacto irremediably captivate the audience but it also plays with their phobias. While the scene of a blindfolded man running across the freeway already causes shivers, it's nothing compared to the scene, however simple, of the race of blindfolded people in the forest: the noise of men colliding into trees sufficiently creates terror and uneasiness. The approach of having a few characters in a limited environment reinforces the claustrophobic ambiance of the film.
While this thirst for shivers is reminiscent of Crash, the motivations vary here according to the characters. Samuel, devoured by remorse, defies the death he patiently awaits while his loneliness finds an echo in the immensity of the desert. For the bullfighter Alejandro (Antonio Dechent), it's the ultimate brave act whereas policewoman Sara (Mónica López) sees a chance of redemption there. Tomás uses Federico as a tool of revenge while this latter finishes the game for love.
Without going for formulaic manipulation, Fresnadillo belongs to this new generation of filmmakers who, like his compatriot Guillermo del Toro or M.Night Shyamalan, knows how to distill worry and fear with a certain poetry. In his film, tides of luck subtly pass from one character to the other and their ritual can be compared to that of vampires in which luck replaces blood.
If in addition to Cronenberg, David Lynch's influence is perceptible (like the scene in the corridor of the casino), the director knew to create an intimate and original work gracefully dressed with elegant cinematography by Xavi Giménez. The actors approach their roles with dignity and reserve, far from the extravagance sometimes associated with Spanish cinema.
While the title Intacto is perfectly appropriate to Federico's character, the audience won't emerge unscathed.
Fred Thom
 Movie Reviews: Spanish Films
Movie Reviews since 2012
Reviews since 2012
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