Live Flesh

Name: Live Flesh
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Romance
Released: January 16, 1998
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Francesca Neri, Javier Bardem, Liberto Rabal

1998

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Goldwyn Films | Release Date: January 16, 1998

Starring: Francesca Neri, Javier Bardem, Liberto Rabal

Summary: An obsessed Víctor (Rabal) tries to get with Elena (Neri). Policemen David (Bardem) and Sancho (Sancho) are called in. Victor is sent to jail after accidently shooting David and seeks them out after he gets out of jail.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 103 min

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Awards & Rankings

40	#40 Best Movie of 1998
78	#78 Most Shared Movie of 1998

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Critic Reviews

New York Magazine (Vulture) - David Denby

Live Flesh, the best movie from Almodóvar since that Iberian screwball classic "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." Read full review

Variety - Lisa Nesselson

Most of all, the satisfyingly cinematic screen adaptation puts motion and energy into a story that was mostly internalized from Victor's perspective in Rendell's book. Read full review

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

Everything (not just the flesh) is vibrant with life. Read full review

Chicago Reader - Lisa Alspector

It's all very clever but not really provocative - though a layer of political subtext may make the scenario seem funnier and more meaningful. Read full review

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) - Liam Lacey

Live Flesh is an often surprising assemblage of attractive parts that never seems to earn a full emotional response. [06 feb 1998]

Dallas Observer - Scott Timberg

It lacks both the shiny surfaces that enlivened the director's earlier films and the depth of character that allows us, in a traditional film, to identify, empathize, or connect psychologically. Read full review

Empire - Giala Murray

The psychological study that is the author's trademark is reduced to superficial and negative motivation - lust, guilt, revenge, escape. Read full review

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User Reviews

JasonE.

Jun 6, 2007

Another overstuffed and convoulted vivacious mess from that oft-adored consummately colorful artiste from Spain, Aldmodovar. I'm not quite certain why he felt compelled to include a political prologue and epilogue to what is a melodrama with a sliver of social commentary. Typically, Another overstuffed and convoulted vivacious mess from that oft-adored consummately colorful artiste from Spain, Aldmodovar. I'm not quite certain why he felt compelled to include a political prologue and epilogue to what is a melodrama with a sliver of social commentary. Typically, the performances are impassioned and committed, especially Bardem who foreshadows his miraculous wooden turn in "Te Sea Inside." However, what mostly troubled me is Aldmodovar's salacious yearning to portray the men as unworthy of these delectable yet self-righteous femme fatales. Admirable as it may be to avoid such seemingly obvious scenes that display evidence of spousal abuse, Almodovar's alignment with the piously important 'Rabal' smacks more of his selfish sexual longing than out of narrative obligation. That being said, who could avoid feeling longing when such fine physical specimens are shot with such desirable yummyness. My goodness, am I envious of the Spanish skin tone. Both the characterizations and narrative plotting are strongest from the late 1st act through the end of the second. The rest is all a bit far-fetched and trying.… Expand

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dierregi

Sep 24, 2013

Victor is a proletarian guy, born on bus by a mother working as a prostitute (shown in an overlong introduction and pointless to the rest of the movie) who falls for Elena, an upper class junkie. Actually, he just has casual sex with her once and becomes erotically obsessed with her.

HeVictor is a proletarian guy, born on bus by a mother working as a prostitute (shown in an overlong introduction and pointless to the rest of the movie) who falls for Elena, an upper class junkie. Actually, he just has casual sex with her once and becomes erotically obsessed with her.

He stalks her to her apartment and stubbornly refuses to leave her alone. A fight ensues and Sancho and David, a couple of cops appear on the scene. David gets paralyzed by a gunshot and ends up married to Elena.

Victor gets to jail, but he is still obsessed with Elena and continues stalking her once he gets out four years later. Already unconvincing, the story takes a turn for the absurd when Elena shows a growing interest for Victor, who continues to confuse obsession with love.

In the meantime, Victor is also sexually involved with Clara, Sancho's wife (very believable plot twist). Clara is giving him lessons to become the best lover in the world, Victor's top ambition so as to astonish Elena with his performance. It sounds like a demented plot, but I am not making it up.

Probably one of the weakest Almodovar's films, it contains the inevitable steamy sex scene, which are Almodovar trademark and it is disgraced even further by an absurd "happy ending", which sees stalker and prey happily together, while Elena is giving birth to their child on a car (back to the start, in a sort of circular move).

P.S. to make the matter worse, throughout the whole movie Victor blames Elena, David and everybody else for his misfortunes, conveniently avoiding to notice that the whole drama arose from his obsession.… Expand

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