A load of bull: "El árbol de la sangre" [2018 Spain]

And they end up being as attention-gathering as only a Julio Medem can manage (apart from Bigas Luna, of course). While the bulls and cows in his latest drama, "El árbol de la sangre" [Eng. Title: The Tree of Blood] might bear special cultural significance to Spaniards, others with a lesser acquaintance will nevertheless discern the passionate undercurrents these creatures will come to represent in this pheromone-fuelled family saga.













Rebeca (Úrsula Corberó) and boyfriend Marc (Álvaro Cervantes) are staying at his stepmother's idyllic farmhouse in the Basque country to try and piece together their extraordinary family tree, while opening up to and coming to terms with secrets and betrayals within their own relationship. They begin by recounting the early lives of their respective mothers.

Rebeca is the child of Macarena (the beautiful Najwa Nimri), conceived during her mother's wild rock star years. As a baby, Rebeca had to undergo life-saving organ transplants that'll deeply affect Macarena for the rest of her life. When one of Macarena's fans, Victor (Daniel Gra0), expresses his love for her, she decides to get married and settle down, and Victor eases into the role of Rebeca's doting stepdad.

Marc's single mother Nuria (Maria Molins) is a publisher who befriends and has a fling with writer Amaia (Patricia López Arnaiz). Young Marc first set his eyes on Rebeca at Amaia's wedding; the groom being Victor's brother Olmo (Joaquín Furriel). When Amaia introduces Olmo to Nuria, she recognises him instantly as the person with whom she had a brief sexual encounter that led to Marc's birth. As the complex relationships within this coincidental family take shape, murkier details of the brothers before they entered Rebeca and Marc's lives come to the fore, with unforeseen  consequences...

Even with a long run-time of 135 minutes, the narrative is pretty fast-paced; blink and you'll likely miss a plot point, so this might require more than one viewing. As a keen follower of maestro Medem's films, I find this screenplay his most ambitious and convoluted yet; instead of neat patterns exemplified in Lovers of the Arctic Circle and Sex and Lucia, we have strands that twist, branch off, and occasionally intertwine.

And then we have the pervasive symbolism of bulls and cows as facets of conflicting but coexisting qualities between the various characters; be it moral, political, or sexual. They make an appearance in unexpected places, which might be off-putting to those used to more 'plausible' story lines, but they're there for a purpose. As in many of Medem's films, sex is an important ingredient that drives the narrative.

Several of his trademark motifs that depict elementary forces also make an appearance in the film. Right from the exquisite cinematography, background score, choice of shots and editing, we see glimpses of the vintage Julio Medem that we love and miss.  If only he could make films more frequently! Performance-wise, the slightly under-used Najwa Nimri, and an ever-elegant Angela Molina playing the brothers' mother stand out, and the rest of main cast give a decent account of themselves. On the whole, while this adequate Netflix production might not have scaled the heights of gems such as Tierra and La ardilla roja, it is still a full-blooded Medem in all respects, which on any day is Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Blu-ray Disc Purchase Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Lucía Delgado, Joaquín Furriel, Patricia López Arnaiz, Maria Molins, Úrsula Corberó, and Álvaro Cervantes



.

A review: "Cambio de Sexo" [1977 Spain]

One of Vicente Aranda's lesser known (and until recently, quite rare) films, "Cambio de sexo" [Eng. Title: Forbidden Love] was also the beginning of a collaboration with his life-long muse Victoria Abril. The film, about a hitherto taboo topic concerning gender identity and sex-change, remains a landmark in Spanish mainstream cinema despite any of its technical shortcomings.








Seventeen year old José María (Victoria Abril) is a gawky effeminate lad who's bullied and harassed at school for his looks and inability to fit-in, to the extent that the school even suggests moving him to a different school. Furious at the suggestion and determined to man up his son, José María's father (Fernando Sancho) sends him away, boot-camp style, to his uncle in the countryside to get used to some hard manual labour. What the father fails, or refuses to understand is that José María actually sees himself as a girl trapped in a boy's body.

Consequently, the father takes José María to a cabaret-brothel to initiate him in  heterosexual sex with the help of Fanny (Rosa Morata), the lead performer and also one of the father's lovers. Things obviously don't go as predicted for the father and before long, José María had left home unannounced to begin life anew as María José in glitzy downtown Barcelona.

Working as a hairdresser, María José meets and gets acquainted with Bibi Andersen (Bibi Andersen), a star transsexual performer at the cabaret she visited with her father earlier. Bibi introduces María José to the cabaret owner and also becomes her mentor by giving her some much needed worldly advice and encouraging her to train as a cabaret dancer.

As María José's showbiz career blossoms and adulthood beckons, she goes through the familiar exhilarating, and at times painful journey through rejection, defiance, and camaraderie, and in the process discovers love. The film ends with María José successfully transitioning into a woman after gender reassignment surgery.

Even though the teenage Abril was already a well known name in Spain through TV when the film came out, she had yet to find her feet in cinema, and this film would mark the beginning of Victoria Abril's stellar career. It goes without saying that apart from her exemplary performance, Victoria Abril is at her adorable best. I couldn't resist sharing this rather subversive scene from a sequence that's disturbingly reminiscent of a oh-so-innocent Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz. "Mi cosita" is anything but, and is surprisingly also well choreographed.

A unique product of Spain's destape, the film succinctly captures the spirit of openness, liberty, and optimism following the end of Spain's fascist era. While the amazing Bibi Andersen - a transgender in real life, had been a regular in Almodóvar's twisted classics, she often played the female even when there were transgender characters in the same film; those roles were typically played by women. This is one of the rare films where Bibi Andersen actually plays herself. For followers of Spanish cinema and its evolution, this film is essentially Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon Blu-ray Link [Region 2]

 

The Nudity: Rosa Morata, Maria Elias, Victoria Abril, Bibi Andersen, and others
As one would expect, the film features several scenes of nudity. Rosa Morata and others appear nude on stage during a cabaret. Maria Elias who plays María José's sister is seen briefly nude while changing. Victoria Abril is nude often, including a couple a scenes on stage, and Bibi Andersen performs a memorable striptease.

.

A brief review: "Lejos de mar" [2015 Spain]

Imanol Uribe has frequently dealt with the subject of ETA and Basque nationalism in his films before - understandably so, since he also hails from the region. His latest thriller "Lejos del mar" [Eng. Title: Far from the Sea] too is no different and is set against a similar premise.










The film begins with former ETA separatist Santi (Eduard Fernández) arriving in Almería to meet a friend - he'd just been released after serving twenty two years for murdering a military officer in the presence of his eight year old daughter. The daughter, Marina (Elena Anaya), is now a doctor at the same hospital where Santi's friend is undergoing treatment. Marina faints after recognising him, and Santi, not knowing that she's the girl who saw him murder her father, carries her back into the hospital.

After recovering from her shock, Marina drops her son at her mother's house in Madrid, picks up her father's handgun and shoots Santi when she catches him alone on the beach. Having fled the scene, Marina returns to the beach after some deliberation to see Santi still breathing, but unconscious. She drags him back into his cabin to treat him for his wounds, and nurses him back to health.

When Marina's journalist husband Andrés (José Luis García Pérez) is informed of Santi's release from prison and his arrival in Almería, he tries to track him down since he is also aware of Marina's tragedy. When he informs Marina about Santi's release, her ambivalent reaction disappoints him a little, but he nevertheless notices a change in her general attitude, and coupled with the increasing frequency of her 'night shifts', begins to suspect that she might be having an affair...

Uribe has dealt with the pathology of hate in some of his earlier films, but this one is slightly different in exploring issues bordering on Stockholm Syndrome, and it also directly addresses reconciliation, which could be a painful process. Obviously, Elena Anaya had the most challenging part in the film, but she performs impeccably as ever. While it is a low-budget thriller, it is still well made and some shot selections are an interesting departure from Uribe's earlier films, particularly the long shot of Anaya's character dragging a heavy and motionless Santi back into the cabin. We're also shown an Almería completely devoid of its ubiquitous tourist-brochure glamour (or Spaghetti Western dustiness) - it might just as well be some bleak seaside in northern Spain. The taut thriller is certainly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Elena Anaya and Verónika Moral
Elana Anaya is nude when she emerges from the sea, and Verónika Moral, who play's Santi's sister, is also briefly nude when she goes skinny dipping. There's also a brief sex scene featuring Elena Anaya.



.

Playing the waiting game: "Tarde para la ira" [2016 Spain]

Seasoned actor Raúl Arévalo makes a surprisingly impressive directorial debut in the revenge thriller, "Tarde para la ira" [Eng. Title: The Fury of a Patient Man].











The film begins with Curro (the brilliant Luis Callejo) driving the getaway car following a robbery - he gets knocked down by a police car and is arrested following a chase. He's the only one in the gang who gets caught, and since the robbery ends in the murder of one of the victims and permanent life support of another, Curro ends up serving eight years. The film fast forwards to the day of his release, and his girlfriend Ana (Ruth Díaz) turns up to receive him.

Ana, during these years, has also been having an affair with José (Antonio de la Torre), a mysterious but sociable customer who frequents her cafe and joins her partner-brother Juanjo (Raúl Jiménez) for poker. An irascible Curro joins them upon his return and violently confronts José following a game. To pacify a worried Ana, José invites her and her five year old son to spend a weekend at his vacant country house - he hadn't used it since his fiance's murder during a robbery eight years ago.

José returns to Madrid and calls Curro using Ana's mobile phone. With his not-so-subtle message conveyed in the subtlest manner, José asks Curro for some 'cooperation' so that Ana and his son could be returned home safely. The rest of the film works like a road movie as José and Curro piece together clues in determining the whereabouts of the other members of the gang - the actual murderers, because they had stopped keeping in touch with Curro following his incarceration...

I watched the film on a whim, without any clue about the plot (thankfully so, for I'm not the greatest fan of the genre), but the first minute was enough to have me transfixed. The director doesn't put a foot wrong from the word 'go' with great screenplay, timing, and shot selection. Aided with the judicious use of Steadycam and some masterful cinematography, not least the ultra realistic performances from the ensemble cast, it is small wonder that the film bagged a handful of Goya Awards this year. If more thrillers were as good as this, they'll surely win a new fan in me - Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Ruth Díaz
The reason for this post is obviously not for the nudity, which by the way is fleeting when it happens; whether during Ana's conjugal visit in prison, a post-coital chat between Ana and José, or when Curro realises that all's not well with matters concerning Ana. Ruth Díaz gives an impeccable performance as Ana.



.

Highbrow destape: "La muchacha de las bragas de oro" [1980 Spain]

If Vicente Aranda's groundbreaking exploration of sexual identity in "Cambio de sexo" made destape (a Spanish 'Glasnost' of sorts during and after Dictator Franco's final years, when censorship was relaxed) purposeful, his next feature, "La muchacha de las bragas de oro" [Eng. Title: Girl with the Golden Panties] with a nuanced articulation of the need for women's individual freedoms, made destape almost respectable. Films associated with this period were normally seen as little more than skin-flicks keener in disrobing rather than understanding women, not that either of these were entirely a bad thing, of course. It will, ironically, also propel the star of both the films, Victoria Abril, into becoming a household name and international sex symbol for well over a decade.

The film is set in Barcelona, where Luis (Lautaro Murúa), a retired member of the previous Franco regime, is writing his memoirs in the splendid isolation of his spacious villa, with a dog and housekeeper as his only company. He isn't overly perturbed when his niece Mariana (Victoria Abril) arrives with her photographer friend Elmir (Perla Vonasek) - Mariana after all, is here only to write an article about his forthcoming autobiography for a magazine she works in, and also to help out in typing his manuscript.

But it does turn Luis's life inside out, because with her visit, his real past - not the one he'd been concocting in his memoirs, returns to haunt him and his conscience. Mariana, who wears no undergarments save the body-painted gold panties that Elmir meticulously paints on her person, is a wild and carefree young woman, openly indulging in drugs and taking lovers from both sexes as she pleases. Before long, Luis also discovers that Elmir is actually a woman, and that she and Mariana are lovers. For a former Falangist, he displays remarkable restraint even when Elmir brazenly gropes Mariana in his presence.

Years ago, Luis used to love and date Mariana's mother, Mari (Raquel Evans), before a mix-up in a darkened room forced him to marry Mari's sister Soledad (Isabel Mestres) instead. Mari also went on to marry his best friend José María (Josep M. Lana), but not before a one-night stand with Luis. After pealing away the layers of lies he had hidden behind, Mariana finds the vulnerable Luis desirable, and even succeeds in seducing him. But a secret about Mariana's real father will come out in the open when an older Mari (Hilda Vera) visits Luis to check up on her daughter. But will the truth really matter to Luis or Mariana any longer..?

The story, based on an award winning novel by fellow Catalan author Juan Marsé, touches upon hitherto taboo topics such as lesbianism and incest, and questions the validity of a conventional family unit in the modern age. They were shocking subjects for their time, and Aranda always excelled in shocking his audience (sometimes I wonder if this is also a Catalan quirk). In the technical department, there is a marked departure for the better from his earlier films despite the tight budget, and the soundtrack is also appealing. The film can be considered a milestone for Vicente Aranda, emerging from a genre-film maker into a mainstream dramatist, and for Victoria Abril, from a talented actress with tomboyish looks to a sex symbol of the eighties; at twenty years old, Ms. Abril was in the prime of her youth in this film. At least for these reasons, the film should be of interest for both the fans and those interested in Spanish culture, even more so after it has been released on Blu-ray.

Amazon Blu-ray Link

 

The Nudity: Victoria Abril, Perla Vonasek, and Raquel Evans
Victoria Abril's Mariana comes out as a hedonistic, naturist and exhibitionist, and perhaps appears nude onscreen for longer than in any other film in her illustrious filmography - obviously all good reasons to cheer about. Perla Vonasek plays the bisexual and frequently whistle-blowing Elmir/Elmira. South American beauty and destape-queen Raquel Evans appears only briefly nude on a couple of occasions in Mariana's fertile imagination when Luis opens up about his past.



.

A short holiday: "Isla Bonita" [2015 Spain]

Veteran Spanish filmmaker Fernando Colomo not only writes and directs, but also plays one of the central characters in his latest romantic comedy, "Isla Bonita" [Eng. Title: Pretty Island].











The film is set in the island of Menorca, where sculptor Nuria (Nuria Roman) lives with her teenage daughter Olivia (Olivia Delcán). Olivia had invited her Swiss boyfriend Tim (Tim Bettermann) for a holiday and the couple were having a great time together, until Lluís (Lluís Marqués) - her ex boyfriend, bumps into them in the market. Unmindful of Tim's presence, Lluís briefly gets touchy-feely with Olivia like the good old days. He pulls back after being introduced to Tim, but Tim is already upset. When Olivia confesses that she ended her affair with Lluís only after she was certain of Tim's visit, Tim packs up his bag and leaves in a hurry, even when there were no flights available.

Around the same time, film maker Fernando (Fernando Colomo) had been invited by his old friend Miguel (Miguel Ángel Furones) to shoot a documentary about the island. Miguel had hoped to host Fernando at his place, but had to change plans and convinces friend Nuria to put him at her place for a few days. Miguel wants to help the down-and-out Fernando who's just been through his third divorce and is having a tough time finding work. The documentary was hence Miguel's idea.

Olivia is distraught and wants Tim back, but he couldn't be found despite Lluís helping her search for him. When her mother had to go away on business, Olivia strikes up an unlikely friendship with Fernando. They share their stories, and go sightseeing and swimming together. Fernando soon becomes fascinated with both Nuria and her work, and decides to feature her too in his upcoming documentary film.

Having had an opportunity to study Fernando, Olivia tries to pair him up with her mother and even sets-up a dinner date between the two, but it backfires, because Nuria felt he was taking things 'too fast' for her liking - after all, "poc a poc" is the way of the island. Olivia gets a shock too when she discovers that Tim was not only in town, but to add insult to injury, was in an intimate relationship with Lluís all this time. They patch things up in a thoroughly modern way of course, by becoming a threesome..! :-)

Colomo is known for his gentle comedy arising from awkward situations and improvised dialogues, and he loves the beach too, and the skinny-dipping that comes with it (naturally), as evident from his earlier films such as Al sur de Granada, and Los años bárbaros. He is one of those rare veteran filmmakers who's not only moving with the times, but also carrying the spirit of the seventies and eighties wherever he goes, and at least for that reason, "Isla Bonita" is Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.es DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Olivia Delcán, Tim Bettermann, and Lluís Marqués
The main film features nudity, mostly from the charming young débutante Olivia Delcán who plays Olivia, along with Tim Bettermann and Lluís Marqués. The DVD however includes an alternative ending shot in full-frame, which feature additional nude scenes from the same trio. One scene has a particularly awkward moment when mum Nuria sees Olivia, Tim, and Lluís sleeping in the nude after sex with the door wide open, and she quietly slips out of the house to avoid embarrassing them.



.

A film review: "Palmeras en la nieve" [2015 Spain]

Fernando González Molina has made a commendable effort in recreating colonial Africa for his latest film, "Palmeras en la nieve" [Eng. Title: Palm trees in the Snow], a saga encompassing the final years of Spain's tiny toehold in sub-Saharan Africa (Spanish, now Equatorial Guinea).













The story centers around Kilian (Mario Casas), a young man from Huesca who in 1953, joins his father and brother Jacobo (Alain Hernández) working for a cocoa plantation in a small tropical island named Fernando Poo (Bioko). It is during Jacobo's funeral in 2003, that his daughter Clarence (Adriana Ugarte) discovers a stash of letters and photographs pointing to a beneficiary still living in the erstwhile colony, and decides to visit the island of Bioko to investigate.

Clarence stumbles upon details of a long-term relationship that her uncle Kilian had with Bisila (Berta Vázquez), an already married native woman. Much of the film dwells on the couple's passionate affair against the backdrop of the colonisers' strained relationship with the locals, and their tenuous grip on sections of a populace simmering with discontent and nationalist sentiments.

It wasn't to be easy for Clarence in Baiko, not helped by the fact that most of the local population have reverted to using African names after Spain vacated (her clues pointed to locals with Spanish names). She befriends local man Iniko (Djedje Apali), falls in love, and will eventually learn to her surprise that he is a rather important relative of Bisila...

The tone of the narrative is vaguely reminiscent of, but not nearly as poetic as La puta y la bellena, with the nesting turtles in place of the whale as the film's metaphor. It tries to steer clear of controversy, as is often the case in films dealing with colonialism, by depicting its protagonist as just another Spanish employee in the plantation, albeit with perks not available to natives. But there's no getting away from the fact that they were still part of the colonial system - and I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the fact that the film was shot in various locations except Equatorial Guinea itself. Despite its minor shortcomings, the film nevertheless scores well in its production values, even bagging a couple of Goya Awards this year - altogether, a much better film from director Molina.

Amazon.de Blu-ray Link

 

The Nudity: Berta Vázquez, and Adriana Ugarte
A stunning and athletic Berta Vázquez - as Bisila, appears nude in at least three scenes with Mario Casas as Kilian (apparently they are off-screen partners too). There is also a scene featuring an as-ever lovely Adriana Ugarte when her character joins Iniko under a waterfall, and they proceed to make love in a secluded beach.



.

Positivity can be infectious: "ma ma" [2015 Spain]

After Room in Rome. it has taken five years for the redoubtable Julio Medem to come up with a new full-length feature, and while it has a simple and more straightforward narrative when compared to his earlier works, "ma ma" still has his style and tone stamped all over it. It is also the first time he gets to work with Spanish icon Penélope Cruz, with whom he also co-produced the film.












Recently made unemployed and also recently separated mother Magda (Penélope Cruz) visits her gynaecologist Julián (Asier Etxeandia) for a routine checkup, only to discover that she requires a mastectomy in addition to chemotherapy after being diagnosed for breast cancer. "You won't even leave me my nipple as a keepsake?", she pleads with Julián in what for her is essentially the latest salvo in a quick succession of life-altering events.

The one bright spot in Magda's life remains Dani (Teo Planell), her twelve year old son whose footballing skills don't go unnoticed by Arturo (Luis Tosar), a Real Madrid scout. Returning from the hospital, she bumps into him at the stadium where Dino is playing, but just as they begin to strike up a conversation, Arturo receives a call that his daughter had just died and his wife left in coma following a road accident. Despite having a bad day of her own, Magda takes pity at his plight and helps him to the hospital where his wife is admitted.

Their friendship grows, and following her operation and his wife's passing, become a couple. Magda and Dino move into his home. But before long, the new found tranquility is shattered once again when she receives devastating news from a deeply upset and caring Julián during a subsequent checkup, which would lead her to take the most momentous decision in her life, on her own terms...

Unlike most conventional couplings, Magda and Arturo's love doesn't start during happier times with sexual attraction being the driver - they become soulmates long before they become lovers, even though they hold very different outlooks; whilst Arturo is inspired by faith, Magda is inspired by life itself, and doggedly pursues and spreads 'happiness' no matter what it throws at her - a positivity that accommodates and spreads to everyone who she comes in contact with.

This is Medem's unique world; fed by streams of positive energy and goodwill in life's undulating landscape of highs and lows. His world is determinedly curious, devoid of cynicism, and seeks to find order or a pattern amongst seemingly chaotic events. Whilst he revelled in showing us such symmetry in earlier works such as Sex and Lucia and Lover of the Arctic Circle, in "ma ma" he restricts himself to just a single such visual metaphor, with the character 'Natasha'. The cinematography might be relatively subdued owing to the subject matter, but the film nevertheless retains all the sumptuousness one can expect from a Julio Medem, not to mention fine performances from the main cast. Apart from one plot detail which perhaps could've been explained sufficiently from an ethical point of view, this couples-film ticks the right boxes and reaffirms Julio Medem as my favourite Spanish director working today. Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.es DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Penélope Cruz
There is brief topless nudity in a couple of scenes where Penélope Cruz's character is either examining herself or being examined by the doctor.



.

Twilight nirvana: "Anochece en la India" [2014 Spain, Romania, India]

Acclaimed documentary film-maker Chema Rodríguez makes his foray into feature films with the quirky and meditative drama, "Anochece en la India" [Eng. Title: Nightfall in India].







Ricardo (Juan Diego) is an ageing paraplegic hippie suffering from a degenerative decease. His grumpy attitude, and generally obnoxious behaviour is nevertheless tolerated by his quietly spoken live-in Romanian carer Dana (Clara Voda). For obvious reasons, Dana is also the longest have lasted in her job.

When Ricardo breaks the news that he will no longer require her services since he will be travelling to India, Dana isn't particularly overjoyed, not least because of the fact that he shouldn't be travelling in his present state of health. As if travelling the normal way wasn't enough, he also wants to make his final trip in style, just the way he used to all those years ago, by following the hippie trail through Eurasia.

Dana too decides to return to Romania, and accepts a lift from Ricardo because it is also on his way, but as destiny would have it, she will end up accompanying him all the way to India. We learn that Dana doesn't really need to work for a living, but does so in order to escape a cruel hand that fate has dealt her earlier. To compensate for her inabilities, she had decided to take on the role of Ricardo's angel, and has also fallen in love with him.

For his part, Ricardo had tried to shield himself from potential heartache through his grouchy demeanour. His real reason for travelling to India will not remain a secret for long; rather than his stated claim of reconnecting with his sweetheart from years ago, his trip to India is for taking his life, and he had made all the necessary arrangements to that effect. In his misery and suffering, he had found precious little will to live.

But Ricardo's cocksure ideas about life and death are put to test under unexpected circumstances, after they find themselves trapped in a desolate ravine following an accident. With little else to do while waiting for help that might probably never even arrive, they have a proper chat for the very first time. Will the two, who have been refusing to face up to some bitter truths in their respective lives, finally have the courage to seek enlightenment...

The film isn't your everyday road movie, because the journey that the protagonists undertake is not only physical but also metaphorical. Ricardo and Dana both have issues that require addressing despite them doggedly pursuing their own objectives. Rodríguez doesn't judge their decisions but merely places them in context, allowing viewers a glimpse into the overall picture. The principal actors give a convincing performance, but the star of the film has to be the quirky, yet nuanced screenplay that is engaging through both its humorous and introspective moments. The film dedicates considerable attention to the little details that significantly enhance the 'bigger picture'. If I have to express an opinion about this little gem in Ricardo's inimitable style, it'll be "de puta madre!" - in other words, Highly Recommended Viewing..! :-)

Amazon DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Clara Voda and Vanessa Castro
Vanessa Castro, as Ricardo's old flame from the past, appears nude in a brief black and white collage. In another scene, Clara Voda attempts to make Ricardo change his plans in India, but fails.



.