Intacto

TIFF [2002]

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(Spain 2001)
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Written by Fresnadillo and Andres M. Koppel
Cast: Max Von Sydow, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusabio Poncela, Monica Lopez

What is it with Spain and its seemingly inexhaustible supply of young filmmakers, all possessing an uncanny knack for crafting haunting and original thrillers that refresh even the hoariest of genre conventions? While nearly two decades pass in America between James Cameron and M. Night Shymalan, Spain has given us Guillermo Del Toro, Nacho Cerda, Alex de la Iglesia, Alejandro Amenabar, and now Juan Carlos Fresnadillo—it seems as if a new young turk comes along immediately on the heels of his predecessor marching off to Hollywood.

I have a hunch that it’s their collective treatment of the genre as a means to explore loftier themes (questions of identity, fate, faith) in a less didactic and self-consciously “arty” fashion, as opposed to merely providing gee-whiz rollercoaster thrills and snazzy FX innovations. Not that these films are intended for windy academics—this year’s entry, “Intacto”, is a stylish as a the best “X Files” episode, as tightly-paced as a Mamet noir, and features a conceit that probably has Stephen King kicking himself.

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The film is set in one of those “another time, another place” parallel universes where “luck” is a tangible thing that can be absorbed and transferred from person to person, and found in great abundance in certain, select--and thus “lucky”--individuals. Samuel Berg (Von Sydow), a snazzily-dressed God of Chance, is upset when his right-hand man Frederico chooses to leave their compound—a casino built amidst a barren wasteland--to create a life for himself. Frederico possesses the same talent as his aging master, a gift that is stolen back from him during their farewell embrace. Years later, out in “the world”, Frederico pays insurance investigators for tips towards miraculous survivors of accidents and natural disasters. He is seeking to train a student into mastering luck, and help him enact vengeance upon the powerful Berg. His rare candidate is a petty crook, Tomas, the lone survivor of an airplane crash. Frederico guides him through a subculture of luck-afflicted gamblers who challenge each other with dangerous stunts and treat regular human lives as poker chips. Pursuing them is tenacious Sara, a cop who is also an accident survivor, hoping to uncover a more logical explanation for a series of mysterious deaths and coincidences. Will Tomas accept Frederico’s proposal and defeat Berg? Can Berg even be defeated? All will be revealed, but no so much that you won’t be still thinking about this one for hours afterward. .

While the film has style out the wazoo, the considerable presence of Max Von Sydow brings gravity to Fresnadillo’s metaphysical musings, esp. his compelling, climactic monologue about discovering his “luck” as a child in a concentration camp (echoes of “X Men”s Magento—genre fans will have fun with this film). “Intacto” may be enigmatic and cerebral, but it’s never pretentious—think Tarkovsky with guns, and better yet, DePalma’s editor.

- Robert L

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