Extasis

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***½

There are those of us who will see anything that features Spanish actor (and now an Academy Award winner) Javier Bardem. Although he should have won his award a few years earlier – for Best Actor in Before Night Falls -- his work in the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men at least offered one side of his repertoire to a fare-thee-well. Approaching 40 and making movies since he was a kid, Bardem comes from a storied Spanish industry family and has now made 40 film and TV appearances, of which I've seen 22. While some are better than others, not a single one has been a waste of time. In my experience, this is unusual, particularly when one is watching a film mainly to see one of its performers. It should not be that surprising, however, as Bardem appears to be as intelligent a man as he is a good -- and incredibly varied -- actor.

How varied? Stick Dance With the Devil, Second Skin and The Sea Inside in your queue and be amazed. Further, you can substitute practically any of his films for these three and get similar results. I suspect Bardem chooses his roles carefully. An actor cannot know what the result of something as collaborative as a motion picture will be. But if he is taking a leading role (or an important supporting role), and he's as strong a performer as Bardem, he'll know that he can probably exercise enough control (at least over his own performance) to end up with something worthwhile. This is how things have turned out for the actor so far, and his relatively unknown 1996 movie Extasis (Ecstasy) -- just out on DVD -- proves no exception.

The movie begins as a minor heist tale involving three friends: a young man, his girlfriend, and their slightly-less-than-bright buddy. The three move from mistake to mistake, unveiling more of their real selves as they go, until we begin to appreciate them as rounded people. Once they connect with a famous theatrical director (played by the great Argentine actor Federico Luppi), the movie really takes off. The director is mounting a version of one of the most famous Spanish plays, Pedro Calderón de la Barca's Life Is a Dream, which has to do with fathers and sons, free will and reality -- and much of this begins to apply directly to the threesome and their growing involvement with Señor Luppi. Director/co-writer Mariano Barroso (In the Time of the Butterflies) keeps up the pace while allowing ideas and characterization to shine through, and he draws fine performances from the ensemble cast that complements Barden and Luppi.

While there is indeed some suspense and mystery, Extasis is really more concerned with philosophy and character. Consequently, those tuning in for a thrill ride may be frustrated. Unfortunately, the film's US distributor Lionsgate (to whom we owe some gratitude for unearthing and then transferring good little foreign films like this one to DVD) has seen fit to exhibit Bardem's screaming mug in close-up on the DVD cover--which gives entirely the wrong feeling about the movie. Yes, there is a brief moment in which he look like this, but in its infinite wisdom, the marketing department is trying to get more mileage out of Bardem's Anton Chigurh role in No Country. Making this facial expression stand for the whole movie simply sets up viewers for a disappointment. Don't be put off; Extasis -- never less than interesting and often more than that -- is worth an intelligent film lover's time.