INTACTO (2002)

Cast

Plot

Every once in a while a film comes along with a story so intriguing, so mind-bogglingly interesting, that you have to watch it, no matter how well it is told. That's the deal with 'Intacto'. The story concerns a world where luck is as much a commodity as money and like money, it can be won, lost, traded or stolen. The film concentrates on the contests that have been devised over the years, ingeniously conceived for the film, and overseen by the Grand Chancer of them all, played by Max Von Sydow. It's in these contests that the film really comes into its own, especially the beautifully surreal scene where some kind of dragonfly is released in a dark room where the winner is decided by whose head it lands on. Some might say that the film relies a bit too much on the ingenuity of its concept, neglecting the characters a little too much. Certainly the climax of the film has a certain inevitability to it, but it looks great and is breathless enough to keep you from feeling disatisfied. Those Spaniards, eh?