Intacto

For us "normal" people luck comes in streaks of good and bad, sometimes we have rotten luck, sometimes we fluke something and sometimes miracles happen. However for some people "luck" is a gift that is always with them but can be lost with the touch of another person with the same gift. When Federico is stripped of his gift by Samuel, a survivor of the concentration camps, he sets out to find another gifted as he was and use him as a way back into the series of games they play. He finds Tomas – the only survivor or a massive airplane crash that killed over 230 others. However, when Tomas flees his hospital bed he is pursued by a police officer, haunted by the loss of her husband and son, who also has the gift.

This film opens with a cool sense of atmosphere with people wearing hoods, long corridors, mysterious characters and so on, providing it with a good start but not one it builds on. That it manages to continue with a good visual style and a cool thriller atmosphere is what I will give it credit for but to me these are not enough to make this film work. The plot is very little more than a basic premise, which, although it acted as a very interesting hook, failed to serve anything in the way of substance or narrative up. The plot lacks logic and it relies on a series of reasonably good set pieces (the games) to keep the interest in the film up – I can see why Hollywood has bough the rights to remake it because it does have style and, if it gets a big name and a thriller director, the lack of substance shouldn't worry too many execs. The ending is good but by that point I wasn't feeling all that involved in the film and it had missed its chance to really get me on board.

In many ways the film reminded me of "Lucky Star", which some may remember was an advert pretending to be a trailer for a film about a man with impossible luck (played by Del Toro and directed by Michael Mann) but I thought the advert did it better. The characters are also pretty thin; I expected them to be complex and interesting considering the plot, but they were tools more than people. With this in mind, the cast actually did OK with what they have. Sbaraglia was a good presence with a good range; Poncela was coolly mysterious; Lopez was passionate and held the attention, but von Sydow just seems to be off in his own film somewhere, just filling time with the second unit director until the rest of the cast meet up with him.

Overall this has a concept that will bring many too it, but it doesn't do anything with it and it never really managed to get a good, involving story built up around it nor create characters to be held by. It is not terrible though, just hollow and unsatisfying – a few set pieces and consistently stylish direction and atmosphere all add value but this will be one time when I'm actually looking to a Hollywood remake to be an improvement.

This Spanish film is a strange one, a hard one to follow story-wise, but visually striking and interesting most of the way. The fact is wasn't always easy to follow will help me want to watch this again to see if I can figure things out better.

The story involves people with th ability to steal "luck" from other people and then taking it away from fellow takers. Make sense? I didn't think so. Despite the difficulty following and understanding everything, I still enjoyed this film.

The DVD transfer is sharp, too, and has good sound. It's an intriguing film and, perhaps, I should have waited for a second viewing when I understood more things about the story. Suffice to say I thought enough of this film to buy it because I knew I'd be watching this multiple times.

INTACTO (INTACT) is the story of a group of `gamblers' whose ultimate bet is their own life (or others peoples life). Sam (Max Von Sydow) a Jewish only survivor of a concentration camp, runs a high class Hotel / Casino in the in a volcanic island. There; while normal people use money, others come to bet their possessions (which are not money) against Sam's wealth (the casino and other `things' he won over the years). The game, Russian roulette, one empty chamber, the challenger shoots first. Sam's protégé, Federico, concerned that Sam may someday lost, and moved by his own ambition, decides to go against him, but to avoid the confrontation, Sam `de-activate' Federico.

At this point you are probably questioning about what I am writing; well, basically these characters can control LUCK. Yes, they have plenty and are able to steal others people luck and use it for their own profit or as a possession to bet against others.

Federico is no longer able to control luck; so he must find his own protégé to play against Sam, and finds Tomas, a fugitive (only survivor of a plane crash) whose only interest is to run away. Three other characters emerge: a police woman, a bull fighter and Tomas ex-girlfriend; everyone is a part of the destiny of the others.

Harry Potter is nowhere around; there are no WIZARDS or enchantments. If you ever knew a gambler, you probably heard about their eccentricities, like do not touch them, do not take pictures a some other things many people believe and many others are afraid to confront.

The basic principle of atheism is that men control their own destiny; and that is precisely the question here. All these people believe in themselves; they are their own God, but also when their faith is lost, also are their powers. Are there really powers ?. The answer of these questions is absolutely metaphysical because faith in itself has no logical explanation.

Fresnadillo's movie is not for everyone. There are no likable heroes (every character is moved by selfishness or ambition), and the premise is absolutely about religion and nothing about the material world (even when seems the contrary). At about two hours, the pace is more European than American and are not quite clear, but none of these things are faults, is just a matter of taste.

There are also very intense and interesting scenes like the run in the forest, that will take out your breath.

If you are out for something unconventional, give it a try. It is an interesting game.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a Spanish director who dares to be different to show us this visionary tale where chance, luck, passion and possibility are behind the action of this thriller. In doing so, he gets away from the formulas of the other Spanish filmmakers working in the Spanish cinema of today. He belongs to a new bred of creators with a sharp eye for detail and cinematic style.

This film pretends to be a game of wits between Federico and Tomas, who are connected in a strange way to the mysterious inhabitant of the casino, Samuel. Much of the early action is a bit confusing because the viewer doesn't have a clue as to what's going on. The scenery where the casino is located looks as though it could be on the moon, for its bareness and lack of life.

The acting if very good. Leonardo Sbaraglia is Argentina's gift to Spain. He's an interesting actor to watch; he has a very enigmatic look about himself. Eusebio Poncela is very effective as the shadowy figure of Federico. Max Von Sydow brings his royal presence as Samuel, the master player of the game that pits him against all the others that dare come close to him.

This film exudes intelligence and a film script above the mediocrity of what passes as Spanish Cinema these days, thanks to director Fresnadillo and his team.

A masterpiece of the new wave of Spanish cinema that is invading the world in this new millennium, this strange, fascinating thriller has one of the greatest ideas of all times used very well till the end of the movie: imagine someone who has the power to steal good luck from other people and using it he may become powerful, but bored in the end. So he uses his wealth to research other people who has the same power or a similar one (people who has survived all sort of terrible accidents) to challenge them in a sort of Russian roulette. Max Von Sydow is the old concentration camp survivor that establish this "game", while other interesting faces of the Spanish scenario are his comrades in this trade over each other destiny that is gripping, tense and full of surprise until the end, when all comes full circle and you exit from the cinema conscious that you have seen a gem, a rare, rare gem.