Intacto

REVIEW
Quite a heady experience, Intacto has the potential to both engage and confuse with its intricate web-like story and multilayered flights of fancy. Yet the film feels very alive and seeks to exist outside of itself, presenting advanced philosophy right alongside its psychological thriller genre conventions. Using luck as its central theme, Intacto's lead characters are endowed with the ability to cheat misfortune, stealing luck from those around them. Luck, in and of itself, becomes a commodity, bartered, traded and thieved like cash. One lucky thief, the sole survivor of a very deadly plane crash, gets recruited to join a group of underground players in dangerous games of chance. Russian roulette, dark flickering lights and blindfolded flights through the woods are involved, creating set pieces that fluctuate between intriguing and absurd. As Samuel, a Holocaust survivor who has graduated to master of ceremonies for deadly chance competitions, von Sydow possesses both an energy and sadness that feels genuine. Fresnadillo, with his first feature, shows promise as a moody and haunting director, evoking dread, suspense and thoughtfulness along the way. But the complex, meandering story of Intacto sometimes threatens to remain anything but intact. (Spanish with English subtitles)