I agree with most of the critics above. More yet, I was shocked by the presentation of the love scenes with the homosexual couple.
Why? because while they --the director, the producers?-- didn't have any compulsion whatsoever in presenting the different heterosexual couples in the most passionate embraces including nudity and super close-ups of French kissing and all sorts of nude contortions in bed, completely unnecessary in their length and in the story, when the moment came to show the same experiences with the homosexual couple, they only dare to go as far as an excruciatingly painful hug, almost among scholarly giggles, with two very nervous actors.
So, in reality, the makers of this film found homosexuality to be UNNATURAL, as one of the characters says in some scene.
What a difference with the Spanish cinema!!
I remember being at the projection of an Almodovar film in an Italian cinema in Rome, and being completely amazed at the total lack of reaction from the Italian audience, they were afraid to have a reaction!! when in Spain people would fall down from their seats laughing at all the risquè situations and fabulous Almodovar wit and flair.
Obviously in Italy there are dark forces in its history that impedes the free manifestation of some very normal and natural emotions.
Pity.
I must add that I was quite surprised to find that this same comment of mine was censured by another correspondent and I felt obliged to rewrite it.
It's very bad and dangerous when we cannot be allowed by the narrow-mindedness of others to express our opinions about certain matters (Homosexuality and the catholic church in this case).
What happened to the Freedom of Speech?
I don't know if that censor will approve of the changes I was forced to make in this review, and I hope he won't ever receive himself the same treatment to his ideas, because that intolerance shows a very sad state of bigotry and dark ignorance.
* * *
2012.
Several years have gone by since this film was made and I wrote a review (twice censured) to which now I'm adding this appendix due to the way the world is drastically changing its view about homosexuality.
Since 2002 several countries have made same sex marriage legal by law and in the case of Argentina in particular it includes adoption and this law covers the whole country.
Furthermore, there is a new law here that allows officially the change of sex without medical intervention and without eyewitnesses just by going to a registry office and changing one's name from the actual sex to the opposite one. Also tourist gay couples from other countries can be married within two hours in any registry office.
And to think that I was forced by an objector to my first comment that censured my review to write it twice! I wonder what that objector may be thinking about how the world is changing...
