En la cama

a woman. a man. in a hotel room. sex. talks. plains of silence, expectations, fears, desire. slices of past. small window of a future. I saw many times this film. and in each occasion, important was the fragile feeling to discover a parable in clothes of a meeting. a beautiful film about need of other and search to escape from yourself. fragility is its essence. its rule, axis and lead character. Bianca Lewin and Gonzalo Valenzuzuela are only its sculptors. their performance, delicate, precise, admirable makes things rolls. it is a delicate film. it is the virtue of director - and after years, not a surprise - to give force of a world who seems be only crumb of dream. to make a film like a silk carpet. to present a world, a state of soul, a crisis in a special manner because it becomes confession of viewer. a beautiful film. lesson. about each of us.

I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival and five minutes into the film I noticed several people walking out on it. I guess they didn't realize that it's title In Bed was a film about two people in bed. This is no bed-in with John and Yoko though. It's a nice character study of two people out for a one night stand in a hotel room after meeting at a party. Lots of lovemaking and small talk turns into confessions of the soul. It's a darkly lit room and only takes place in one room with no additional scenery so it has a little of a claustrophobic feel to it at first but the fairly weak script is delivered well in word and expression from it's two talented and attractive cast members Blanca Lewin as Daniela and Gonzalo Valenzuela as Bruno. Lewin is clearly the star here and I would like to see more of her. Well, I've seen about as much of her as nature created but I would like to see her acting again. I can't believe this film had two costume designers in the credits since there are only three items, one bra, one pair of panties and one pair of men's underwear in the entire film. Two set decorators seem a little excessive too unless they created this set from scratch but it looks like an actual hotel room that they simply brought their cameras into. This is a very small low budget film and has it's flaws but it worked for me and I liked it. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Alright, about my rating first: I realize that this movie is not 10/10 quality, for it is a good one, but we have all seen better. However, in it's own category, it shows some qualities, that are rarely seen at cinema.

Namely: Well done sex scenes.

People, seriously, why is it so hard to make them? In most movies you see, they're either toned down and flat, or over the top and out of place. This one's on the other way taking it to the extreme. The whole film is about two young people on a one night stand in a motel room. There are no other actors, and no other set. Just these two, who came to have sex. And to have it as many times as possible. The night is long, and they already paid for the room, so it's perfectly understandable.

The story is about the two getting closer and closer, until their relationship turns from 'total strangers' to 'uncomfortably close, for a one night affair'. And that's another interesting thing about this one. I bet everyone of you has memories of sitting through a movie with a larger audience, coming across an unexpected, kinkier scene, which makes all of you feel embarrassed. Well, this movie doesn't screw around, that's for sure, and maybe because you know what to expect, and because of this film is well written and executed, you'll never once feel that cringe. As a matter of fact, the dialog parts may be much more tense, and uncomfortable. Why? Because a one night affair is not about talking. One might bump into things he or she doesn't want to get involved, or let the other get involved in.

Let's get back to the sex. I really didn't count it, but they're having sex about five times throughout the movie! It's quite a big number for a 85 minutes movie, which tries to tell story actually. But all of them work just fine. It's due to the cast of course, both the actors come off as really likable, good looking, young and fresh, and a strange kind of chemistry is present. As they getting to know each other, slowly, their relationship changes. And here comes another reason why these scenes work so well: good timing and direction. See, it's not just a movie, where these two screw five times and then they talk. The sex scenes are fully integrated into the plot, the have reason to be where they are, and they're executed and played out in a manner that reflects to the actual mood, events and dialog. It means we get about five completely different sex scenes in one movie, on about every significant point of the plot, where they are more than needed.

Deepest regards to the director, for this is truly an accomplishment, not too many could've pulled off.

I may have seen only one other film from Chile, and was pleasantly surprised by the interesting concept and fair execution of this one by director Matías Bize. Two strangers at the end of their 20s meet for a one night encounter of casual sex in a motel. They may have done it many times in the past, but this night will prove to be different. The film starts with the two having sex, this is where many other stories in movies end, but here this is just the pretext for a dialog and a possible relationship. A relationship that will probably not last beyond the night, but its temporary nature gives it the occasion of intensity and sincerity. These do not come instantly however, it takes several rounds of dialog (and more sex) to start peeling off the layers of convention and get to the intimate truth, insecurity, intimacy of each one of the two characters. Sex is only the external layer of a relationship, and the most superficial of all, it hides rather than it represents what the man and the woman in the couple really are, and it takes special circumstances and dialog for the truth to pop out - this is the essence of the story that is being told.

Such a movie cannot keep the interest of the viewers even for its about only 80 minutes without good acting, and we get indeed here two excellent actors that pass well the screen and the challenge of explaining their characters beyond the physical appearances, which as with the story is the principal acting problem they face. Playing almost at nude in the perimeter of one motel room and yet building complex and human characters is not an easy task for an actor. Both are more than OK, Bianca Lewis is even close to bright. Director Matias Bize succeeded to make an interesting and different film, I wonder if he will be able to avoid closing himself in the formula or format of experimental films and rather continue to follow the emotional dimension he brought to screen in 'En la cama'.

meeting of two strangers at a party. a hotel room. sex. talks. jokes. confessions. games. real life fragments. memories. the past. sex. fear. stories. and the end. "En la cama". one of many films about nothing. at the first sigh. but interesting for the realistic manner to use the viewer. because it is an ordinary events who not have real surprises. it is not a film about sex. but about the discover of the other. it has the right dose of blank atmosphere for be very close by a documentary. but each of the fake errors are pieces of a simple story who becomes a trip. because it not gives answers. because the questions are not only parts of a game between Daniela and Bruno. because it has few cute scenes who are good arguments for define it as romantic. so, a simply story. a night. and a hotel room. and, sure, a bed. the rest remains at the disposition of public.