What do you normally expect if you hear a movie comes from Mexico? Kidnappers? Hijackers? Drug cartels? A sensual love story? Well, the latter comes close, but DESEO takes you further.
The movie is based on Arthur Schnitzler's "REIGEN", one of the biggest scandal's on European theatre stages in the 20th century. Just like the original text the film tells stories of longing for love, seduction, power and disappointment reflected in different characters (soldier, school girl, actress, husband.....) with distinct social backgrounds. While Schnitzler's play was said to describe the "merciless mechanism of sex" without actually showing it, the film does have a very erotic/sensual undertone which logically reflects the title in a narrower sense and is beautifully staged in the respective scenes. However, "DESEO" refers to all kinds of DESIRES, not just physically, but in a wider sense to whatever a human being could wish for.
Director Antonio Zavala Kugler manages to cleverly connect each story with the next through reappearing characters and their varying "importance" in different story lines. The wonderful selection of music underlines the stories and sometimes it feels like it's become part of the cast. Speaking of which...the cast, without exception, is a "crème de la crème" selection of Mexican actors, who know how to work and stage their talents.
I think DESEO is a great realization of the original Schnitzler text and Zavala successfully transferred it to our times.
BRAVO!
