Two Movie Recommendations: Tape/Lucía y el sexo ~ A Rich Idea

Sometimes you should listen to your movie store guy.

I know…many of you go to blockbuster and your movie store guy is a tweaked out teenager who would rather be skateboarding. Others of you never see your movie store guy because he is now a computer screen that reads Netflix.

However, at your local movie rental store (that will probably go out of business soon if it hasn’t already) there exists a unique breed of person who has nothing to do all day but see his business slowly fail at the hands of the aforementioned behemoths and…watch movies.

This guy knows a thing or two as he does nothing else.

My guy, my local movie store guy, just told me about two movies which I would have never come across were it not for him: Lucía y el sexo and Tape.

Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) Review

The title of this movie may appear like it is in another language…that’s because it is. I am not some kind of foreign film aficionado and not the type who would routinely recommend foreign films, but this one was interesting.

The female lead in this movie is someone named Paz Vega, who you may remember from Spanglish or a small independent film with Morgan Freeman (which I would also recommend) called 10 Items or Less. The majority of her films though, like this one, are in Spanish.

Paz plays Lucía, a waitress intent on obtaining the affections of a writer, who lives more through his writings than his real life. She succeeds in her seductions and the couple have lots of el sexo, which is not unfortunate because Paz/Lucía is rather easy on the eyes.

However, these two lost souls cannot stroll seamlessly down the primrose path of their lives together because the past intervenes. What follows is an endless parade of personal drama: murder, lust, offspring, parenthood, lost souls, and more sex.

The themes are soap-operatic but the presentation unfolds stylistically with surprises evolving at rapid pace.

If you don’t mind the Spanish subtitles, you’ll probably enjoy Lucía y el sexo (English Title: Sex and Lucia).

You can get Lucía y el sexo on Amazon.com or read more about it on IMBD.

Tape: Starring Ethan Hawke , Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard

My local movie store guy recommended this gem and, after seeing the actors, I was surprised that I had never heard of Tape. The movie stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard, who I remembered long ago from the movie Dead Poet’s Society.

Tape is a certain type of movie and you have to like the type to enjoy the movie. If your requirements include car-chases, guns, and thrill-rides, this movie is most certainly not your type; the whole movie takes place inside of a hotel room.

This movie is directed by Richard Linklater, who also directed Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. If you have seen these movies, you will have an idea how this movie is presented–it’s all dialogue.

I like this type of movie. In our real lives, most drama unfolds from dialogue and human interaction not car chases and spy plots. The drama that unfolds in this movie is about old friendships, jealousies, sex, love, and past crimes.

It is three people in a hotel room exploring their past and exposing raw emotion.

In the end, you may be left with more questions than answers.

You’ll enjoy it…if you enjoy this type of movie.

…a special thanks to my local movie store guy for the recommendations!

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Richard Cummings

Author at Obvious Conclusions

Richard Cummings is a writer, traveler, and web content developer.

Get your copy of his latest book entitled Obvious Conclusions, stories of a Midwestern emigrant influenced and corrupted by many years living in San Francisco and abroad. It just received its first outstanding review "...reminiscent of David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs" on Amazon UK.