Live Flesh (1998)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are too many thrillers that want to be sexy and dramatic and stylish and smart, but with great disappointment, those "ands" turn into italicized "ors", as few artistic talents are capable of such an intricate juggling act. One too many Basic Instincts walk out the door all dressed down in crotchless interrogations with little value to be held in the long run. Some directors are so self-conscious that they feel the need to grab a megaphone and loudly inform us that, that's right, they are aiming to be sexy and dramatic and stylish and smart. If only those damn "ors" would get out of the way for once.Few filmmakers, however, have the gutsy panache of Pedro Almodóvar, who possibly was the result of a lab experiment involving Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Sirk, Brian De Palma, and the wardrobe of Endora from Bewitched. His films range from candy colored to smokily noiry, sometimes carrying the weight of a Technicolor Bringing Up Baby or a severely darkened vintage women's picture. Though slightly flagrant, his projects maintain the professionalism of an auteur who simply knows what the hell he's doing.Take a film like Live Flesh, which isn't quite sexy enough, soapy enough, violent enough, yet still manages to feel distinctly, no pun-intended, fleshed out. It's subdued, but it's carefully subdued. If we had the same old X-rated Sirk stuff like usual, we'd surely be tripping in a David LaChapelle styled hallucination. This time around, Almodóvar fabricates a complicated story of revenge, steamy trysts and deadly misunderstandings that hit all the right notes, even if those notes are all sharped and flatted; yet, it's his most mature film.The movie begins in 1970 with a theatrical birth in the back of a city bus; being welcomed into the world is Victor Plaza, the son of a prostitute (Penélope Cruz). Jump 20 years into the future: Victor (Liberto Rabal) is meeting Elena (Francesca Neri), a drug addict, for an impromptu date after hooking up a week previously. Elena was in the mood for a one-night stand, not a courtship — when Victor shows up to her apartment, she flies into a rage, threatening to shoot him in a fashion only Loretta Young could top. They get into a scuffle, leaving Elena unconscious while the gun flies out of her hands and accidentally fires.The downstairs neighbor hears, and, concerned, calls the police. The cops who arrive, the alcoholic, reckless Sancho (Jose Sancho) and the more proper David (Javier Bardem) attempt to calm the scene. Cut to yet another scuffle, David is shot in the back, paralyzed, while Victor is sent to prison for the next four years. But when he is released, he finds that David and Elena have married, leading to a series of events that could only be found in a classy telenovela.No matter how breathy and melodramatically enhanced the plot may at first sound, it is surely one of Almodóvar's most toned down films, both in terms of style and personality. Gone are the neons, artificial sets and delightfully wacky side-characters; gone is the tongue-in-cheek restlessness that made his films better-than-average Hollywood homages that were far too good to simply be called homages. In Live Flesh, you take him seriously, viewing him as a director who has had plenty of fun in the past but wants to make something as substantial as his peers. Looking back, the film marked a turn in his career, shifting towards heavyweights like All About My Mother in 1999 and Talk to Her in 2002.Not to suggest that Live Flesh is sapped of any pleasures. The storyline is pleasingly hammy, with touches of unexpected realisms like wheelchair basketball and domestic abuse, and the performances are finely tuned. Even better is the cinematography (clearly influenced by Almodóvar himself), which hangs onto the bodies of the actors like a fixated Michelangelo; whether they're silhouetted, in the nude, or clothed in cheetah prints, there is an added lustiness that heightens the frequent sexual tensions the film constantly revisits. Live Flesh is a sumptuously shot throwback of a romantic thriller, evidence of a director with pop arted ambitions taking a risky turn that pays off.

Pedro Almodovar is a Spanish director known for his fast-paced stories about prostitution, homosexuality, femininity in masculinity and a bunch of other taboos. He often deals with relation between men and women, sexuality and the different manifestations of it. He ironically studies his own culture, which is strongly masculine. He has given us a lot of satirical portrayals, amazing stories and taught us about the beauty in difference. Almodovar started by making short films in 1970's but moved to full length features in the 80's. In 1990's he was highly appreciated in the world of cinema and in 1997 he brought us a new growth story Live Flesh.In 1970's a woman gives birth to a boy in a vacant bus: at the very same night the boy is named Victor and he is granted the ability of traveling via Spanish buses free of charge. 20 years later Victor meets a woman, who couldn't be less interested in him; still Victor cannot get her out of his mind. A series of events and coincidence lead the characters to their own paths, which walk into each other as time goes by.Pedro Almodovar has never been my number one personal favorite, but I've always enjoyed his films: he is a very good storyteller plus his films are hilarious portrayals of the macho-society. The greatest thing in his work is the fact that he has been going up all the time. Film by film he has outdone himself. After Live Flesh he made All About My Mother and Talk to Her, both of which are amazing films and I consider the latter to be his true masterpiece.With regards to the philosophy of film in the work of Almodovar, I see existentialism behind it. His characters are often prostitutes, poor youngsters, people who haven't planned their lives, people who haven't planned to become prostitutes. There is no destiny that guides them. Just as in the films by Eric Rohmer in Almodovar's the events build around coincidence and everything is led by it. All that happens, happens because of coincidence or the minor choices by the characters. Such as David getting into the accident and falling in love with Elena, because of Victor's choice.The existentialism in Almodovar's films is especially from Jean-Paul Sartre. He was a French atheist existentialist who took a lot of influence from Kierkegaard and Heidegger for instance. Sartre said that man is just thrown into this world and by one's actions and choices defines one's own existence. "Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you to give life a meaning."Live Flesh is basically a growth story - the growth story of Victor, from his birth to his twenties and the film particularly portrays the growth of his love. Live Flesh is a film, which is both funny and sad, bitter and sweet. It's about love and the yearning of it: a timeless film about love to cut a long story short. The film includes some hilarious ironic descriptions of Spanish men. It works very well just as it is but it is quite interesting to look below the surface: into the philosophy of film and intricate themes and taboos.

Pedro Almodovar has a distinct style of story-telling and character development. This is visible from the first scene of the movie itself where we see the birth of one of the characters in a public transport bus. For some, this scene may have no relevance to the behavior of the character or how the story shapes up, but still the scene is pretty much there. The rest of the movie is also filled with some unique scenes and developments which make the movie very much different from average thrillers. For example, there is a scene where two of the protagonists are face to face fighting each other with vengeance but suddenly stop and cheer together because their favorite player scores a goal. The plot is pretty average, but the direction and the actor's performances has enhanced it. Watch out for the aesthetically shot sex scenes as well. Javier Bardem is good playing a handicap and a passionate man. Liberto Rabal steals the show though with different shades to portray. Not one of Almodovar's best, but still an average watch.Rating : 7/10

Pedro Amoldovar's 'Live Flesh' is a stylish, original and watchable revenge-thriller, featuring not just a love triangle, but a love pentagon; moreover, one of the participants is that rare creation, a disabled character who inspires envy not pity. But there isn't too much substance beneath the surface: all the leading figures are gorgeous without being lovable, and while the central sex scene is certainly quite erotic, I don't imagine you'd see anything quite so arousing by sticking a camera in any real couple's bedroom. There is one theme behind the story, which is brought forward in the conclusion of the movie, and that is the changing face of Spain over the last quarter of the twentieth century; but the connection of this idea to the plot is slight. Overall, it's a film with interesting parts, but their sum is a little underwhelming.