Pasión mortal

I got talked into seeing this movie years ago by some pretentious friends, wasn't all that impressed by it, and insulted it gratuitously on the walk home from the theater. It's not very well-acted, the plot is incomprehensible inasmuch as it even exists, and the sex scenes, explicit and implicit, are nowhere near as titillating as the title or promotion would suggest. But somehow I remember this movie with near-perfect clarity over a decade later. Why? The structure is fascinating -- I'd never seen a narrative structured as a progression of random encounters. And even if no scene is particularly compelling and no character is especially distinctive, the movie manages to be thought-provoking. Since every scene is obviously intended to depict a seduction, you start to wonder about the nature of attraction and power relationships. On a cinematic level, New York looks pretty, Linda Fiorentino is hot, the gay boys are all handsomely lit, and Malcolm McDowell is an embarrassment to the art of acting. Stop now before you hurt someone else.

It's too bad this little seen gem of a film is almost impossible to rent

-- it's a real winner. From it's sexy and provocative style, to its

pulsating score, this is a film made with real commitment and passion.

Chain of Desire is life and love on the steamy streets of New York, told

through couples who lead us to other couples. It's a modern day La

Ronde, but it never feels like a rip off -- it's original, romantic and

downright hot. Linda Fiorntino is, for once in her career, vulnerable

and sympathetic. Director Lopez has drawn beautifully nuanced

performances from all his cast. And what a cast! Some of the freshest

faces, that even 10 years later hold up. Anyone that has ever spent a

hot summer night in New York will love this film. It's a love letter to

the city that never sleeps, but more importantly, it's a testament to

the spirit and permissivness of late 80's and the people who survived

it. A beautiful, sexy and haunting film that I saw at least five times

in a theatre. Everyone I dragged to it loved it as much as I did. A

sensual masterpiece. ....

We all know how important images are as tools of seduction. Or repulsion. With that in mind, as the writer-director of "Chain of Desire", I want to express my dismay at the vulgar ad campaign that was designed for the video release, which makes it look like a cheap soft-porn movie. When it was released theatrically by October Films, the ad was tasteful and enticing. For some reason the people who handled the video took it upon themselves to create a poster that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, with "actors" that don't even appear in the film. You would never know from this image that the movie was in competition in several important festivals and got very reviews in the main papers. By doing this, the campaign scared away the sophisticated urban public to which the movie would naturally appeal and disappoint the people who rent it thinking they will get some cheap thrills. It must be difficult for the average viewer to imagine the feeling of impotence and frustration a director feels when faced with this kind of distortion. I hope that when the film comes out on DVD the campaign will use the original poster and the film will find its rightful audience.

Max Ophuls gave us one of the great films of all time, La Ronde. A stylish seduction about the art and enterprise of seduction with an extraordinary cast. Filmmaker Temistocles Lopez marvellously modernizes what was a cautionay tale about syflis, setting it in a sexually charged Manhattan at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Again the storytelling is that of the portmanteau or multi-plot, multi-character as one character from each sexual coupling, couples with another, hence the chain of the title or "round" as in the Ophuls film taking us back to the first character. Though low budget and less elegant than the original, Lopez's actors rise magnificently to the occassion. To list these names, hardly an "A" list in the conventional sense, but there is nothing conventional about this movie, is to provide us not with a roster of famous movie stars, but a lineup of highly accomplished and versatile actors from a diverse film background in several countries. Linda Fiorentino, Malcolm McDowell (UK), Assumpta Serna (Spain), Seymour Cassel (the Bronx), Grace Zabriskie (New Orleans), Patrick Bauchau (France), Elias Kotais (Canada), Tom Guinee, Dewey Weber, etc. provide a rich, sexy and fascinating work force to weave us irrevocably into this spellbinding tale of modern urban seductions. Not to be missed!

Chain of desire is very strong movie that takes you right from the beginning into the whirls of desires. Temistocles Lopez, the Director, has depicted and intense human drama that touches us with an intense feeling of déjà vu but rarely understood. Linda Fiorentino, the untamed actress of hollywood gives us here an unforgetable performance. An excellent movie, magically constructed that makes the difference in the "all-the-same" American movies.