Good movie but grossly overrated

Good concept, poorly executed.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

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

Sex and Lucia (2001)A fascinating, moving, beautiful, sexy movie. Yes, it's about sex, and there are lots of sex scenes, some of them surprisingly graphic. But it's not about sex at all, in a way —or at least the bigger point is about recovery, and finding love, and the power of goodness. This makes it all sound sappy or sensational, and some people might find it so. But I think it is extremely serious and probing. And if this territory is not completely new, it's suddenly fresh and intriguing.And confusing. If there is one stumbling block for many it has to be the deliberately convoluted plot, and the convoluted way the plot is told through several time periods and with interchanging roles, or what seem to be people whose positions alter in each others' brains.Or not! What I mean is, I think it kind of makes sense, maybe perfect sense, if you study it. The key to it all, both the characters and what happens to them, is a writer and his book(s). Because one of the main characters is also the writer's most devoted (and obsessed) reader, the fictional elements become true, or at least get blurred with the truth, and so what the viewer sees (poor depraved viewer at this point) is partial and suggestive and puzzling.Which is exactly why the movie is so good. You have to let go of the facts a little and hang onto the mood, and to the characters (and the actors) who are quite real and palpable. In fact, one of the things that makes this so significant is the high level of acting—the author and the three main women that come through his world over six or seven years. The emotional intensity, from joy (and ecstasy) to horror (and grief) is quite intense.There is a lingering feeling of awkwardness to the production of the movie. It's not just that it's a hair low budget—this is part of the feel of it, and it's quite beautiful overall—but that it uses certain editing quirks and filming styles (like blown out highlights in some scenes) to create effect. Sometimes this is helpful for keeping track of different points in the shifting narrative. Sometimes you are too aware of it. At least the first time.I've seen this only once, and I can imagine watching it again someday. It might well grow on you, getting a little clarity but also revisiting the emotional dips and peaks a second time. One small heads up for people who might need to know—there is a rather too-long section near the start with lots of frank and varied sex, and it drags a bit (and is too self-indulgent for the plot), but then the rest of the movie largely avoids it (not completely!). So if this is a turn-off, get through that part and see what turns up next. The movie never expands outside its small group of characters or its limited range of sets and locations, but it inhabits these places with increasing interest. Director/writer Julio Medem has succeeded at something here. See what it is.

I am a big movie buff and I have been using IMDb for years but have never written a review. After watching the movie, I am compelled to write my first review. I have never been so angry at a movie. I feel that the director/writer is tying too hard to give the movie some 'art.' It is so contrived upto the point that the viewer feels that he is neglected in constructing the storyline. Too many snobbish metaphors, ambiguities and subtleties leave the audience uncaptivated. As the story goes on, I feel more and more disengaged, thanks to its pretentious taste. My tipping point is the dog scene. First, the writer doesn't have to kill the child. Even if he has to, it doesn't have to be by a dog. If it has to be a dog (another distasteful metaphor, yes I get it), the scene doesn't have to be shot in such an overly unnecessarily confusing way. I know it is the movie makers' choice but I can't help feeling self-pity for myself for having to witness it.

One thing that can never be said about "Sex and Lucia" is that it's not interesting. It has a unique look and feel, more than almost any Spanish film I've seen, and also some very memorable and enticing scenes. The first thirty minutes work quite well as a slightly surreal relationship-based drama. The more it goes on, though, the more the plot twists and turns, and as much as I wanted to believe that it was all leading up to something, or that there was a substantial layer of subtext, I found myself not caring too much, and I got a strong feeling that Medem was deliberately making it more obscure and incoherent than it has to be for the sake of creating an artistic visage to cover for the fact that he didn't really have anything much to say.Some films bend and break genre conventions to create truly fascinating art; some films decide to ignore plot and coherency in favor of atmosphere and symbolism. "Sex and Lucia", unfortunately, doesn't do any of that. It does have quite intense atmosphere, and probably some layers of symbolism I couldn't be bothered to look for, but it just failed to capture me in any meaningful way. I was impressed with all the elements - gorgeous shots, good dialog and excellent acting - but it doesn't come together to create a real film, and it's too long and too heavy-handed to be enjoyed merely as a collection of individual scenes. Worst of all, it's not even about Lucia, nor is it about sex. It's about unlikable Lorenzo and figuring out what on earth Lucia sees in him. That's almost as big a mystery as what the film is actually about.

Sure, this is the film where Paz Vega bares all and gives us many skintastic moments, but it is much more than that. It is also Elena Anaya's hottest picture. OK, now that we got the fact that two incredibly beautiful women give us the performances of their lives out of the way, let's focus on why this is a really good film, and not just a peep show.It's a surreal, non linear story of a writer who commits suicide, or does he?; of a sexual encounter that results in a child; of an enter-twining of a new love with the old life; of a story with real life. It is beautiful, romantic, and haunting with Oscar-nominee Alberto Iglesias' (The Kite Runner, The Constant Gardener) score.Paz Vega (Spanglish), Tristán Ulloa, Najwa Nimri (Before Night Falls), and Elena Anaya (appears in the elusive Alatriste) give super performances in this film.It is the best performance I have seen from Paz Vega.