Die Last mit der Lust

"Between Your Legs" is a provocative title for a less than provocative film which may wear you out with its busy, convoluted tale and anticlimactic conclusion. The film tells of a man and a woman who meet in a "sexaholics anonymous" meeting and become involved in deceit, betrayal, sex, murder, suicide, and a whole bunch of yadayadayada. Although this film features some fine Spanish actors and is a well composed and stylish shoot, the story is just too much ado about too little with insufficient payoff. Forget the title as it has nothing to do with anything is this drama which could have been about the undoing of a man because of sexual addiction or a murder mystery or even cheap sexual sensationalism but instead plays out like so much busy work with little to praise, little to fault, and very little to care about. Not recommended for nonSpanish speakers. (C+)

What I liked about this picture: the cool camera-work (airport lounges have rarely been as attractive, and there are evocative scenes in toilets and bedrooms); the music, always urgent and involving even if it owes much to Bernard Herrman; the identity of the transsexual character is well integrated into the story, not an add-on (I thought of Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game).

What I didn't like: the red herrings in the story line, meant to throw us off the scent but only serving to annoy the viewer; the large number of characters that makes following the plot all the harder.

What kept me watching was Victoria Abril, playing the detective's wife with a panache that made me regret she has not made more films we can see in North America.

If this was intended as a tribute to the great Alfred Hitchcock, this is simply disgusting: in fact, there are many obvious quotations (the opening credits, the first scene with the little girl screaming like in Marnie, the other one who believes to be already dead, remembering us Madeleine in "Vertigo", the music, etc, etc). Nonetheless, where Hitch's films are deep and fascinating, this one is just a sample of the lowest-grade cinema. It is outrageous towards Hitchcock, to say the least, showing that the director of the film either is not capable of understanding anything about the greatness of A. Hitchcock, either is simply a bad director. 0 / 10

You never know what you're going to expect when you watch this quirky Spanish flick. There are some obvious moments that are (Pedro) Almodavar and some are (Julio) Medem, which should come as no surprise as the actors in this show have worked with the above directors. Sex, suspense, comedy, drama - it's all here rolled into one. An engaging film that leaves you smiling after you come out of the cinema.

My advantage, I do not speak very much Spanish, and more than 80% of the dialogue went over my head... The acting of Abril, however, was so intense and comprehensive, the way her lips quivered, the "realness" of her unexpected "jerkiness" from time to time, and the scene in the "club" followed by the double entendre'd pretensiousness with her husband. It kept me interested for almost two hours. I may not have got it right, but there were multiple plot layers that "dovetailed" without the insulting forecasting which is generally evident in American movies. And, like I hinted, maybe my advantage was that I did a kind of "speed listen" instead of listening to every word. And, the male lead did an equally great job.

Loved it tremendously. Hope it never gets English subtitles. I like what my imagination filled in for me!