Sound of the Sea (2001)

i must have seen a different film!!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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.

The only thing going for this stupid movie is the sex. And that is also ever so dull. The plotting and story are so old and dumb that it is incredible anybody produced this 3rd rate piece of nonsense.Billy Wilder did a better job in 'Double Indemnity" in 1944; and this film has neither the directorial vision nor the story line or plotting and logic to improve on something that has been dozen a million times on TV better, than this garbage.The most irritating and pretentious element is the poetry recited constantly to get the leading lady in the mood. It's just cheap exploitation and lazy writing. One day computers will direct this kind of schedule filler. Real artists will do something more engaging and vital.Doing one's annual tax return is more thrilling than wasting time on this stale material.

Bigas Luna is a Spanish director who has his own style (Jamón, jamón, Huevos de oro, Bámbola, Lumière et compagnie, La Femme de chambre du Titanic, etc) and his method of storytelling takes some adjustment on the part of the viewer. For those who treasure the magical mysteries of Latin dramas this film SON DE MAR (Sound of the Sea) will surely satisfy. Keeping with the title he has chosen (from Rafael Azcona's screenplay based on Manuel Vicent's novel) the presence of the complex sounds of water are ever present and the carriage that escorts the lovers to their ultimate destiny is a boat of the same name. It works.Ulises (Jordi Mollà) is a teacher brought in midterm to a little town's school. His obsession (and teaching assignment) is Virgil's Aeneid, and he constantly reads it, quotes it, coaxes his students to read aloud the poetry therein, and when he finds an apartment belonging to a couple whose daughter Martina (Leonor Watling) falls under Ulises spell, Ulises quotes from the book scenes involving serpents from the sea, words that make the young and very beautiful Martina awaken sexually. In rapid sequence they become pregnant and marry - though Martina's parents prefer the young wealthy Sierra (Eduard Fernández) as a suitable husband.Soon after their baby son is born the couple attend a party at Sierra's estate and Ulises eyes a beautiful woman while Sierra attempts to win Martina's heart. Ulises buys a fishing boat and sets out to fish for Martina but the boat is wrecked and thinking Ulises dead, a Requiem mass is held and Martina in time marries Sierra for his ability to provide for her infant son. Five years pass and the now steely Martina lives in luxury and receives a phone call from - Ulises! First enraged that Ulises left her for five years, Martina is quickly wooed to the strains of poetry from the Aeneid and hides Ulises in the top floor of one of Sierra's new buildings. Sierra discovers the reunited lovers' tryst and plans for their end. The lovers escape - to a destiny foretold by phrases from the Aeneid.Despite his greasy long hair and scruffy beard Jordi Mollà delivers a smoldering presence as Ulises. But it is the presence of Leonor Watling's Martina that makes this at times shaky film work. She is a powerhouse presence. The photography by José Luis Alcaine and the sensuous musical score by Glen Johnson enhance Bigas Luna's concept for the film. It is another satisfying work by a unique director who knows how to mold a story with fleshy means and make it work. In Spanish with English subtitles. Grady Harp

Ulises says that naming a boat after one's wife is a forerunner of bad luck. From the moment he names it "Martina" we know misfortune will overtake them. Like a Greek tragedy what follows is inevitable.The numerous sex scenes in this drama are given an original touch when Ulises, a teacher of classical literature, mesmerizes Martina by reciting an episode from Virgil's Aeneid. While this may sound rather silly, Ulises delivers the lines in a poetic way which tends to enliven the romantic mood. Indeed his story oft repeated ultimately becomes part of the sex act. When Martina says "Tell me that story again" it is an invitation to indulge in another session of sex.The character of Ulises is interesting. Not the usual clean cut hero, but long-haired, unshaven and with a generally unkempt look. An easy prey for the seductive Martina. Their scenes together are mainly convincing except when he cries with his head in her lap. I do not feel moved by this scene as I feel I should. Perhaps it is because he has just handled a tuna fish, and the smell of fish is still on his hands.The introduction of Alberto's crocodile into the story leads one to surmise what horrible part it may play, and who will suffer as a consequence. All your guesses will be wrong! The planned drowning of the lovers at sea by evil and underhand forces brings to a close so many romantic interludes. But wait! The director of this film has decided that love transcends death. In a symbolic way we see their bodies lying in utter nakedness on a cold slab move together and embrace as true lovers do. Strange isn't it, how so many films end with a kiss?