Lovers / Rated

It shows love not as some kitschy fairy-tale but as a totally random, irrational and unstoppable force of nature, an affliction both self-absorbed and self-transcendent, both gorgeous and monstrous. Flawless cast and dialogue, there isn't a false moment during the entire film. All the more powerful in that it's supposed to be based on a true story---very Spanish!

Let this stupendous work of art surprise you. Film just doesn't get much better than this.

Poor Paco. What on earth is he to do when his young fiancee Trini refuses to have sex with him until they are married? Well, put up with it and hope the wedding day is rushed forward it seems. But then the poor lad goes and accepts a room from the very foxy Luisa who falls in love with him and is well-prepared to relieve him of his pent-up tension. Does he let himself be seduced? Why, of course he does but things get a far more complicated when he in turn falls in love with her.

This is certainly brimming over wth passion and tension and Victoria Abril is very good as the manipulative and ruthless Luisa as is Maribel Verdu as Paco's chaste intended but this, to be quite frank, has such a slow pace and, in places, awkward dialogue that it does need some patience to sit through it all. Also, there is not enough sympathy created for you to care enough about the characters when things start getting very nasty indeed.