Atame! (1990) from Tuna and Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

The Robbins recipe: "The Collector" meets "When Harry Met Sally". Just imagine if Sally had met Terrence Stamp instead of Billy Crystal, but fell in love anyway.

Eventually, she is touched by his obvious appreciation of her and the way he takes care of her, and, at the same time, is free from responsibility for a relationship, as he keeps her tied up, and doesn't give her a choice. When he is beaten up trying to buy her drugs to help a toothache, she decides that he didn't deserve that kind of abuse, and has sex with him. It is at this point that she remembers the previous encounter -- the great sex is familiar. He leaves her alone, and her sister discovers and releases her, but she realizes she does love him, and finds him.

The film was slapped with an NC-17 by MPAA. It is easy to see why. Abril moves her hips during sex, and, earlier, masturbates using a bath toy. Masturbation is usually R, but not when it is done by a woman for sexual pleasure without fantasizing about a male partner. Rather than cut the film, Almodóvar had the courage to release it Unrated. If only more film makers would stand up to MPAA, we might have intelligent adult films in the US. Technically, this film is superb. The DP used many innovative camera angles, and the Art Direction is amazing. The DVD transfer is one of the better ones I have seen, although it is lacking in Special Features. The film is in Spanish with English sub-titles (which could have been more accurate).

The critics agree on 2 1/2 stars. IMDB readers say 6.7/10, which is somewhat higher. It is fascinating to read the IMDB comments on this film. People are totally polarized. Many found it to be "dreck," pointless, sexist, and of no worth. Others claim it to be a brilliant black comedy, and a masterpiece by Almodóvar. I agree with those who say masterpiece. Anytime IMDB folks disagree so completely, it indicates to me that something pretty powerful happens in the film to cause that much controversy. In this case, it is a very hot sex scene, and the concept that a woman could fall in love with someone who has imprisoned her. For me, the change from fear and hate to love was believable. First, he took better care of her than she took of herself. Second, they had met before. Third, he genuinely cared and was devoted. Sure, it is not a mainstream relationship, but it is a fascinating view of Dominance and Submission, and explores who is in charge, the "Dom" or the "Sub." The film was, for me, a total delight.

Scoop's comments:

Not much else to say except "I agree", but here are a few thoughts:

• Almodovar's movies are about lost people - orphans, junkies, pornstars, people of confused sexuality, people with terminal diseases - about how they got lost, and about how they sometimes get found, or learn to accept their loss. Although his subject matter has the potential for Bergmanesque bathos, you'll see none of that. He views his characters with great affection, shows them in bright light and colors, adds optimism to their lives. Banderas hits Abril in the face once, and gets the crap kicked out of him. Abril is a junkie and a porn actress, Banderas is a thief and kidnapper just released from an insane asylum. Sounds depressing and grey, doesn't it? But Almodovar never goes where you think he will, always follows his own beat. He's a different kind of guy - and we need these kinds of guys.
• It is a beautifully filmed movie. Almodovar loves bright colors, and uses them lavishly. He often uses combinations which sound wrong on paper, but they work for him. His films have a special look which defines his own aesthetic sense. The colors are great, but he also has a gift for unusual camera angles and framing. He just has an interesting way to look at the world, and his visuals reflect that in the same way his scripts do.
• He also proves that you can make art without skimping on entertainment. As artistic as this film can be, it is also lurid, and involving, and fun, and sexy, and you learn to understand and like the characters.
• In addition to being a thriller of a fashion similar to the Hitchcock mode, it is also a rare example of a romantic comedy for grown-ups. You might think of it as the skid-row Spanish version of "When Harry Met Sally"
• I don't know if Banderas and Abril really got it on, but if not, it's about the best faking I've ever seen.
• I have written before, but would like to repeat, that Banderas was a young actor of exceptional sensitivity until Hollywood set his jaw permanently into that one facial expression.
• I actually like this movie better than the highly praised "All About My Mother", but "Mother" was a safe film for the Academy to nominate. "Atame" is not traditional Oscar fare, to say the least, and is completely politically incorrect. (On a superficial level, you could fairly say that Abril ends up falling for a guy who abuses her brutally, and that this could not really happen, or should not really happen.)

You may not want to watch this with your significant other. Many women find it sexist, and others may object to the explicit material. On the other hand, let me point out the objective fact that women rate this film much higher than men at IMDb. (7.8 to 6.6)

Stop reading. Rent or buy this DVD, because pleasures like this don't come along very often. You can watch a pleasant movie with great sex and nude scenes and also impress your stuffy friends with your knowledge of a top foreign director.