Intacto’s only recognisable actor in the West is probably Max Von Sydow, having starred in films such as The Exorcist, Conan the Barbarian, Minority Report and several other films that you would possible know him in. Having taken part in over 100 films, most of his acting career stems in Europe.
A film funded supported by BBC Four (now the foreign film arm of the BBC previously known under the moniker of BBC Films), Canal Plus and Momentum Pictures, Intacto is a sharp, original and tense film which has been fantastically directed by the producer of films such as The Others and Open Your Eyes, Juan Carlos Fraesnadillo. As only his second directorial piece, it seems to link in some respects to his previous work, Linked, which won critical acclaim due to its Oscar nomination. Of the two films, this is probably his stronger work.
The film opens with in a casino, whereby a sophisticated looking bald headed guy seems to be winning continually at the roulette wheel. The manager is sweating and signals to the camera that a problem appears to have arisen, and requests help. The man is winning the table everytime he hedges a bet, and bets everything he has each time.
Enter Fredrico, played by Eusebio Poncela, a man ordered to find the player. He is given a description and Fredrico sets off to find the man at the table, touching his hand, he apologises for thinking he was someone else and leaves. The man places his bet, and as before places everything on the bet, but this time he loses.
Called to see Berg, played by Sydow, who wears a hood over his face so that he cannot be seen by anyone other than Fredrico, and sits in a room with two seats and a filing cabinet, Fredrico comes with bad news. He wants to leave. Berg reminds Fredrico of the reality of what he has done for him, taking him in and bringing him up to cultivate his gift of stealing other people’s luck. Berg is the same, but can be seen as, referred to later, the King of Fate. No one can take his luck away as such, but he can take the luck of others.
My only disappointment has to be the quality of the picture. Most of the foreign films tend to be in DVD5 format which is fine, but it would be good to have the alternative
Fredrico tries to escape, but is caught. Berg punishes him by taking away his luck, leaving Fredrico a broken man with nothing left to earn his keep. Berg’s henchmen are relieved he has lost his luck, and finally have a chance to beat the crap out of Fredrico for always being Berg’s protected favourite.
Down on his luck (forgive the pun), Fredrico gets a call from a friend, Claudia, who deals in insurance investigations. Fredrico seems to have a record there, suggesting that perhaps he once worked there. Though when he meets with Claudia he offers her a bribe which she casually accepts. The purpose of the bribe is to allow him to meet Tomas. Tomas survived a plane crash in which 237 passengers were accounted for, of which only one survived. Being the only survivor has made him a target for Fredrico to exact revenge on Berg for taking away his gift.
At the same time, being the only survivor, he is left in a traumatic shock which ends up in him being hospitalised. Sara, a detective on the case, is assigned to Tomas to arrest him for theft. When Tomas was discovered, it was with a a stash of cash which was strapped around his waist. Sara has her own story of luck, which you discover as the story continues, and it has been her drive to and her curse to capture Tomas.
We come across several people who feel they have the gift of luck, that it will protect them and provide them with success. Many push their luck to their limits, only to find they don’t have the same luck as someone else. Some have more than others, and some have less. Luck is traded like cards, money, betted with. We learn that a person’s luck can be increased with the number of people they steal luck from. Since everyone has some level of luck, it is possible to drain them of all their luck – your fortune at the expense of their lives. There are other ways of luck being transferred from one to another, but if you watch the film you’ll find out how and why it is more significant than just the physical contact of transferring luck.
Intacto is a sharp, original and tense film
Fredrico initially helps Tomas, but in an act of greed, he betrays Tomas’s trust and puts at risk something important to Tomas. Having failed in a task of luck, Tomas is left to fend for himself. Fredrico makes a run for it, frustrated by Tomas’s failure, having got so close to Berg and yet failing to achieve his aim. Tomas is infuriated by the betrayal and sets out to find Fredrico and discover the truth of his betrayal. At the same time, we learn of Sara’s reason for surviving, and her discovery of who Fredrico is, leading to a final climax between all the main characters.
The scene’s of particular note are that of Berg’s Russian Roulette game. Five bullets are placed in a six shooter, the barrel is spun and the gun is fired at the head of the opponent. If you fire the empty barrel, the gun is passed over to the opponent, who in turn spins the barrel and fire at the opposing party. Even with the outcome already decided, and predictable, it doesn’t take away from the interesting tension that permeates during the whole routine of those scenes.
My only disappointment has to be the quality of the picture. Most of the foreign films tend to be in DVD5 format which is fine, but it would be good to have the alternative of DVD9 as films like this deserve the same manufacturing costs as your crappy Hollywood flick. It has been a case with most films, but the DVD5 format in Intacto is probably better than most, although dark scenes tend to “bleed” a little.
Intacto is a very good film which essentially falls into the category of the Thriller genre, with some interesting and novel ideas. It can possibly be compared to The Dice Man in idea, where as the Rhinehart talks of chance, Intacto discusses luck – too distinctly different ideas, which are still rather similar. The performances are, on the whole, pretty good though I found the character of Sara to be a little too detached from the rest of the film. Von Sydow, as ever, dominated the film with his grandeur performance.
Verdict: A stylish thriller with inspired ideas.