20 centimètres

"20 Centímetros" (2005), written and directed by Ramón Salazar, is the story of a transvestite who would like to be rid of the 20 centimeters-- about 8 inches--of sexual organ that prevents her from being the woman she wants to be. The plot becomes more complex because Marieta (Mónica Cervera) falls in love with a man who likes her just the way she is.

There are two more subplots--one involves Marieta's house-mate, who is a wildly inept businessman, and the other is about a woman who lives in Marieta's apartment house and who is involved with some very shady deals, that are often frustrated because she can't find a babysitter.

The supposed charm of the movie comes from the fact that Marieta has narcolepsy. When she falls into a trance, she dreams of herself in Technicolor musical production numbers.

The problem with this film for me was that the musical numbers, which should have kept the movie from just being a Spanish "Transamerica," weren't very charming. The classic movie musicals are colorful and vibrant--these were more cutting edge and threatening.

I don't see "20 Centimetros" as a GLBT film any more than "Transamerica" was a GLBT film. However, when it was shown at Rochester's Dryden Theatre, the crowd was composed almost exclusively of gay male couples. The man who introduced the film said the he chose it because of the musical numbers. I'm not sure if he had previewed it before he selected it. It's the kind of movie that looks better on paper than it plays on the screen.

Writer/actor/director Ramón Salazar ('Amnèsia', 'Piedras') is becoming a formidable presence on the Spanish cinema scene. He takes risks, he knows he takes them, and he makes them turn out in his favor. '20 Centimeters' is a mix of a story that is part hilarious musical comedy and part sensitive character portrayal of people who live just outside the edge of what is cruelly called 'normal': the mix makes for a jolly fluffy cake that smacks of Salazar's predecessors Almodóvar and Fellini.

Marieta (the enormously talented Mónica Cervera) is a work in progress: she dresses as a woman, has breast implants, is on painful steroid injections, but still retains the 20 centimeter remnant that prevents her from becoming the totally feminine woman she desires. She has a heart of gold, works the streets as a prostitute with special gifts to earn money for her transgender surgery. But at home she shares an apartment with a dwarf Tomás (the very handsome and talented Miguel O'Dogherty) who squanders Marieta's money on ticket scams that don't work, cares for her friend Berta's (Concha Galán) son, and provides emotional support to her fellow sex workers. She has a major problem: she has narcolepsy and falls asleep for several hours at a time in the most inappropriate places (!) and during these sleep periods dreams of Broadway musical numbers occur in which she is the singing (in Spanish, French and English) and dancing star with a cast of hundreds in the wildest of costumes! Marieta yearns for love and when she notices on Raul (the very hunky and talented Pablo Puyol) she feels she is in love, especially when Raul returns her attention, takes her home to meet his rather low class gross parents and family, and most importantly physically falls in love with her - AND her 20 centimeter unwanted obstruction to happiness. How Marieta comes to grips with her focal surgical dream versus her chance for love is the tender way the film concludes.

Mónica Cervera carries this very difficult role extremely well, not only allowing us to see the inner suffering being she truly is but also popping the cork off the champagne bottle of musical production numbers that pepper this fun movie. The cast is uniformly fine (Pilar Bardem, the mother of superstar Javier Bardem, has a fine little cameo role) and the direction show that Ramón Salazar has tight reins on his talent. This is a film that is bawdy fun without ever spilling over into the realm of bad taste. Watching it is a toe-tapping good time! Grady Harp

A narcoleptic transsexual (Monica Cervera) wants the 20 centermeters between her legs removed so she can become a true women. Then she meets hot, handsome, hunky Raul (Pablo Puyol) who likes what she has between her legs--a lot. She loves him...but enough to keep what she has? Also the film shows her fantasies and dreams which break out into elaborate (to say the least) musical numbers.

The basic idea (depressing story intercut with elaborate musical numbers) has been done before ("Pennies From Heaven", "Dancer in the Dark", "Moulin Rogue")--this is only different in the subject matter. I mostly liked it--the musical numbers are just great--full of energy and some incredible dancing (the "True Love" number stops the show). But the film is slowly paced and depressing. The acting of Cervera and Puyol (who has guts taking this role on) saves it. Also this has some fairly explicit nudity (male) and sex--be forewarned. Worth catching. I give it an 8.

After a promising short film ("Hongos") and an excellent feature length debut ("Piedras"), director-writer Ramón Salazar surprises all with "20 centímetros", a compelling musical which won't leave anyone indifferent.

Certainly this is not for all tastes. Instead of taking the easy way out of mixing musical and comedy, Salazar chooses drama and depicts the sub-world of prostitution with such a raw perspective that many people felt extremely uncomfortable during the film. "20 centímetros" is, after all, the love child of Von Trier's "Dancer in the dark" and early Almodóvar. As I said, not for all tastes.

Mónica Cervera, who was in Salazar's previous directorial efforts, is the star of the film, and she really shines in her one-woman-show. She sings her heart out and gives a terrific performance as Marieta, the transvestite hooker who dreams musical sequences in which she is the sole star. Other cast members include Lola Dueñas, Rossy de Palma and Najwa Nimri in brief roles, and also Pilar Bardem in a cameo. Unknowns Concha Galán and Miguel O'Dogherty play pivotal roles in this eclectic musical. Pablo Puyol, Marieta's leading man, plays Reponedor, a simpleton, gracefully and shows that he could surprise everybody if he's given the right chance.

What I liked most were the musical numbers, though. Some of them are extremely effective in narrative terms "Parole, parole, parole", and others are so well made that it doesn't matter if they don't add anything story-wise ("Quiero ser santa" is a prodigy of make-up, scenery and costume). My favorite, however, is the one in which Marieta and Reponedor sing a song each at the same time.

If you are willing for something new give "20 centímetros" a chance, specially if you like musicals and you are not afraid to watch some of the most marginal strata of our society. Also, watch it for the great performance of Mónica Cervera, an actress that could be huge in the future.

This is a completely fabulous movie. Imagine a Bollywood version of Transamerica directed by Pedro Almodovar from a script by Dennis Potter. Imagine taking LSD and going to a showing of Breakfast On Pluto which has had its IRA scenes replaced by scenes from Nights of Cabiria. This is perhaps not a date movie for the faint of heart but if genre-bending and gender-bending don't scare you, this movie is relentlessly, joyfully entertaining. There's Something About Mary all right, and it's eight inches long! The dance sequences are great; they had so much delicious stuff to look at all over the frame that I had decided that I didn't have a moment to spare for looking at the subtitles during them and was relieved when our heroine starting singing in English. Given the difficulties of foreign film distribution in this country, you may have to root around for this movie but once you find it it's a handful and a half!