Na 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.

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.

Do you remember "Before Sunrise", with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy?

If you do, the general premise of this movie goes more or less like this: It's "Before Sunrise", but instead of Vienna you get a motel room, and lots of steamy sex.

It's quite simple, really. Daniela (Lewin) and Bruno (Valenzuela) meet at a party, and end up in a motel. And they have sex.

While I certainly can't complain about the sex scenes, the interesting part of the movie is what happens after (Or, uh, in between) them.

From being two total strangers having sex at first (They can't even remember each other's names!), they end up revealing themselves, their lives, their fears, and all that jazz.

The talk starts sloppily at first, but soon they get all the big topics covered. Past relationships, religion, fate, sex, 80's cartoons, death, etc.

It's somewhat tender and ironic, too, when you notice that, in the end, they're trying to seduce each other in a very childish and innocent way when they have already spent three condoms and about half an hour doin' it.

The dialog flows really good and it's very well paced. The acting is superb. Valenzuela is known around these lands for being somewhat of a expression-less actor, but he achieves a good performance.

Blanca Lewin is, however, the one that steals the film, in my opinion. I've always been her fan, so perhaps I'm a bit biased when saying this, but you're completely captivated by her character. As Daniela starts revealing herself, all the way to the (shocking!) revelation in the end, (Well, not that shocking, really) you just can't turn your head away from her.

So, really good writing, high doses of eroticism, acting that's not only above-par but a hole-in-one (or whatever better than that, I'm not much of a golf person), good directing and Blanca Lewin. What else can you ask for in a movie? Okay, maybe explosions and ninjas, and this film doesn't have those two, but it's pretty much covered in all of the remaining categories.

It gets a 9 because the ending comes out as a little bit too abrupt, in my opinion. But then again, 90 minutes seems to be just the right time.

Lemme get this out of the way. I bought this movie because the actress on the cover (Blanca Lewin) was very good looking and wearing little clothing. I expected nothing more than an 85-minute skin flick with little to no story. Boy was I wrong.

Sure there is plenty of nudity in the movie, but it was much more than that. Unlike most bimbos who populate movies like this, Daniela was a real human being. She was flawed but beautiful, mature but childish in a way. Over the course of the night she spends with a stranger, she slowly reveals herself through conversations ranging from 80's cartoons and movies to relationships and personal experiences. By the end of the movie, I was surprised that I cared for her more than any other character I've seen in any movie save for one. Blanca Lewin gives an amazing and unforgettable performance in a movie that takes a serious look at relationships and society in general. I highly recommend it.

4/5 stars.

First I would like to say I really enjoyed this movie. I don't mean to diminish it, but it was very obvious to me how it was strongly based on Richard Linklater's movies: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset (and Tape, because the whole movie takes place in one room).

There is a scene that is a clone of the famous Before Sunrise scene where the protagonists hear the song "Come Here", by Kath Bloom, and exchange furtive looks towards one another. In "En la Cama" they hear a song an exchange looks in the exact same way. Unfortunately, I think this scene is very pale (the acting and the setting) if compared to the Before Sunrise one, and is a bit out of the context of the movie (it definitely doesn't make sense in a motel bed right after the two made passionate wild sex). I prefer to think it was made as a tribute to Before Sunrise, rather than a shallow copy, a way for the director to say "This is really inspired by Before Sunrise, I love it too!". I strongly believe the director watched those movies and asked himself, "what if I did this with the protagonists in a motel bed, during a one night stand?".

But it doesn't mean this movie has nothing to add. It feels like an antithesis of Before Sunrise/Sunset, and shows the concept of the movie (= deep communication) applies in other contexts as well. It is also shows a great irony in today's society, where people will go to bed without knowing each other (and this probably happened even before one night stands even existed...). Sex is trivial, while reaching each other's inner thoughts, feelings and truths is the unexpected, obtrusive and life altering act.

The acting is very good and realistic. The dialogs are great and keep you enticed to the movie. The plot is good and has a lot of depth, but I think it has some minor flaws (no big deal, though). The sex scenes are very artistic, but I wouldn't take my kids to watch it.

If you like Before Sunrise/Sunset, you will enjoy this movie a lot (but don't worry, it won't replace them in your shelf). If you liked this movie dialogs or any part of it (besides the sex scenes), you should watch Before Sunrise as soon as possible.