Bob Taylor What I liked about this picture: the cool camera-work (airport lounges have rarely been as attractive, and there are evocative scenes in toilets and bedrooms); the music, always urgent and involving even if it owes much to Bernard Herrman; the identity of the transsexual character is well integrated into the story, not an add-on (I thought of Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game).What I didn't like: the red herrings in the story line, meant to throw us off the scent but only serving to annoy the viewer; the large number of characters that makes following the plot all the harder.What kept me watching was Victoria Abril, playing the detective's wife with a panache that made me regret she has not made more films we can see in North America.

hidalgo-4 Following in dialogue with the comments of the previous reviewer I will start saying that most films convey the prejudices of the society where they come from. As Bishonen has already mentioned, this film is quite homo-phobic, but you don't notice this until the end. Actually, it is difficult to put all the strings together until the end, and still, they don't all fit nicely. The tension of the drama is broken several times because the film appears to have been heavily edited thus missing a few important components.Yet, probably because of the editing too the film presents just the best acted scenes. They are indeed very well done, with a play of characters that is a pleasure to watch. The movie is sexy without taking too much time showing physical bodies engaged in sex (the first scene is the longest one). The essence of the movie's sexuality is captured in the powerful sexual urges that the protagonists have trapped within themselves, making them their slaves, and the main appeal of the movie.The thriller side of the movie was only good when it was linked with the issue of sexuality. Otherwise it was ordinary, probably because the scrip tried too hard to always hide the true identity of the killer, thus, giving little space for the observer to get deeply caught in the web of tensions.An interesting thing about the movie's narrative is that a story-maker (I say maker because in addition to a story-writer, he also "made" stories) resulted smarter and more cunning than businessmen, sharp detectives and even the "evil" people who were trying to hurt him. He even appears as too "innocent" throughout the film. In most other films when someone is having too much fun and trying to get away with it, at the end such person pays with interests. In this film, however, the conclusion plays out differently.I also felt betrayed at the end when I noticed the strong homophobic sentiment of the movie. It just shows how the Spanish society continues being so conservative. Like the prejudices behind this movie, the first negative reactions in Spain to the movie "Bad Education," where the main actors behave homosexually and bisexually, just serves to prove that a large number of people in Spain are still trapped by the sexual mores of the Catholic Church.But besides the issue of homosexuality, the smoking like chimneys, and the fact that the thriller could have been made better, the movie is one of the best in its genre. I specially liked Victoria Abril's performance. In Abril, the movie took a thirty-something women and made her the sexual object and the central sexual figure of the narrative. This contrasts with Hollywood's productions in which most females playing such roles are teenagers, twenty-something, or extremely glamorous. I think this movie illustrates by contrast how the U.S. society is so obsessed with youth, to the detriment of older women in particular.

carnivalglass There is something I could not understand by the end of the movie. As they go into the aircraft the camera goes to a close up of the name of the airplane. It seems that something is going to happen with it but then nothing is shown about it. Are they doomed to die in an accident or what?Then Victoria Abril's husband goes into a shop and drops something to the floor. It seems to be the case in which he carries his contact lenses and somebody puts his foot on it and breaks the case.He finally stays with his daughter and a new dog but what's up with Abril and Bardem? I found the movie a good one but there are some missing links.

edward_tan You never know what you're going to expect when you watch this quirky Spanish flick. There are some obvious moments that are (Pedro) Almodavar and some are (Julio) Medem, which should come as no surprise as the actors in this show have worked with the above directors. Sex, suspense, comedy, drama - it's all here rolled into one. An engaging film that leaves you smiling after you come out of the cinema.