Imdbidia An stylish original and intriguing Spanish film that will keep you entertained with your mouth open in a shaped O and your forehead frowned.It is a story of some gifted and sickening lucky people who gamble for luck (not for money) to get even luckier and win a competition to meet and have a duel against the luckiest of them all, the only survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, who owns a casino in a deserted place in the Canaries.Some of the ideas of the film are really original and brilliantly filmed, and that's a lot to say nowadays, when the same stories are repeated to the infinite. The scene of the race in the forest by blindfolded runners is just fantastic, so thrilling, crazy and engaging. However, every single gamble game is original in its conception and filmic realization. The movie has the mood that some experimental Spanish and European movies of the 1970s, but it is, above all, a film noir with an original plot.Leonardo Sbaraglia (as a forced and naive "believer" Tomas), Eusebio Poncela (as the unscrupulous and vengeful Federico), Antonio Dechent (as the playful and down to earth retired bullfighter), and a superb Max Von Sidow as the sad and cold "mother of all lucks" are terrific in their respective and devious roles. However, I found Monica Lopez unconvincing in her role, and this somewhat weighed down the film.Although I liked the very last scene, I thought that it wasn't appropriate, as it was too generic and inconclusive, while, minutes before, the movie had had a clear closure.

titan000040 I've found the best way to view a film is to know absolutely nothing about it prior to first watching it. I put on Intacto, knowing only that it had faired well in some very well known film festivals, including Sundance, and that there was a man running with a blindfold on on the cover. That said, I found this film captivating. It was interesting from start to finish, giving the viewer just enough information to understand the film, yet leaving some questions for the viewer to think about days later. In Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's world, luck is something that certain people in the world have a power over, and those with that gift have the ability to steal luck from others from just a mere touch on the arm. What really makes this film exciting to watch, is the extreme lengths that those who have this gift will go to, gambling on who the luckiest person is. There were a lot of things I liked. For starters, the film-making in general was perfect. Everything looked beautiful, the pacing was great, and the actors were phenomenal. With the script at hand, they could not of done a better job. By not being straight forward with all the information, it's very fun trying to watch and figure out, what's coming next. There were, however, a few things I didn't like, or understand. I was a little confused by the inconsistencies in the language. It seemed like half the time the characters were speaking Spanish and other times they were speaking English. It didn't do anything to effect how enjoyable the movie was, I just didn't understand it. More importantly the movie was missing something in the plot area. The premise of the movie was very original and intriguing, but the central story line lacked compassionate characters, and a certain amount of believability even within its own implausible world. For instance, if these people are so lucky, how did they get stuck gambling there lives in underground casinos? Why is our main character forced to succumb to a life of bank robbery if he's one of the luckiest men in the world? Ultimately though, the film leaves you with a lot to think, and talk about. It's very entertaining, and at times, you'll be emotionally drawn to it. For me, that's all I look for in a good movie.

merklekranz Like pieces on a chess board, the lucky or unlucky characters move, capture, or are lost. The movie asks the viewer to suspend his beliefs regarding random outcomes, and buy into the theory that some people can get luckier by taking luck from others, while leaving the losers unlucky. There is very little character development, and the confusing story loses steam between "games". The concept certainly is different, and that alone makes "Intacto" watchable. Marginally recommended for admirers of films that are creative but could require some patience from the viewer. A second viewing might be mandatory for even marginal comprehension. - MERK

rixrex While it's no chore to get the premise of this film at the start, certain people can take the "luck" of others, there's several points in the first half-hour that are muddled and may cause viewers to wonder who's who and what are they in the film for. If you are adept enough to get beyond that, all will become apparent and the film will be very satisfying. Of course the premise is so absurd that a great suspension of belief will be needed, but this is no more absurd than any really good fright flick, and most weird sci-fi. It is a quasi-fantasy thriller that sets itself up as a realistic drama with elements of the fantastic, but nothing terribly bizarre so that we then view it as completely realistic. Not an easy thing to do with a subject matter that could have become laughable. There are enough points of departure from the idea that luck is destiny so to give control to the participants of the games of luck. Now what about the possibility of getting the bad luck as well as the good? But that's a premise for a different film.