From the very first scene, Lucía Lucía shows that it's something special: fresh and imaginative, with a certain ineffable spark in everything from Cecilia Roth's performance in the title role, to the creative cinematography and the overall art design of the film. Based on the novel La hija del caníbal by Rosa Montero, this Mexican film introduces us to a singular character whose dull and routine life is interrupted, one day, by a sudden jolt: as they're getting ready to go on vacation, Lucía's husband disappears, leaving her with nothing but unanswered questions and anxieties for his safety.

At first Lucía's problem seems relatively straightforward: where is her missing husband? But as she struggles to track down the clues to his whereabouts, questions of identity begin to multiply. Who is this "Worker's Pride" group that claims to have kidnapped him? Is her husband really the mild-mannered government employee Lucía knows? Joining Lucía in her search are two of her neighbors, both of whom seem to have more to their own identities than meets the eye. We even meet Lucía's parents and find that they're not so easy to pin down, either: her mother, an actress, and her father, whose nickname of "the Cannibal" may or may not have a basis in truth. In the midst of all this confusion, though, Lucía faces up to the real issue behind all the others: her own uncertainty about her identity, her self-worth, and her future. But if there's one thing we learn about Lucía right away, it's that she's a woman of energy, who may be temporarily pushed down but who finds a way to spring back up again. We can't help but be thoroughly engaged in her quest, fascinated by her situation, and hopeful that everything will work out right.

Lucía Lucía has something that I always find intriguing, when it's done well (as it is here): an unreliable narrator. Well, not unreliable exactly; more like imaginative. Lucía herself narrates her story, and she soon admits that, as a writer, she feels the urge to embroider her story at times, or at least cast things in a slightly different light than they really are. It's quite an appropriate style of narration for a film that ends up being about identity.

The film has a tone that's best described as playful. I'd hesitate to call it a comedy, as it doesn't deliberately aim for laughs, but the very human frailties of the characters as well as the delightful absurdity of some of the situations gives Lucía Lucía a light-hearted feel even while it explores serious territory in the human heart. Here the film is significantly helped along by the excellent performances by Cecila Roth as well as her supporting actors, Carlos Álvarez-Novoa and Kuno Becker. Credit is also due to Antonio Serrano, who as the film's writer as well as director has done an excellent job of creating believable, non-stereotyped characters whose relationships develop naturally as the film proceeds.

Lucía Lucía takes quite an interesting journey from beginning to end; in some ways it reminded me of Amèlie, with the slightly surreal, imaginative nature of the film, and in other ways, it reminded me of The Spanish Prisoner, with its who-can-we-trust plot and machinations within machinations. With some of the plot twists and odd occurrences, I actually thought that Lucía Lucía was heading for a complete "twist" ending. As it turns out, the final emphasis of the film is on the characters rather than the plot; in a way, I think that the film could have been even better with a twist in the plot as well, but in any case, the film does wrap up in a very satisfying manner.

The DVD

Video

Lucía Lucía is presented in a very nice anamorphic widescreen transfer, preserving its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The widescreen transfer has only one side of the disc, as a pan-and-scan transfer is included on the other side; surprisingly, though, I didn't notice any compression issues at all. Colors are bright and vibrant; edge enhancement is basically non-existent; and contrast is excellent as well. The print is clean and free of noise or flaws. Overall, in fact, Lucía Lucía looks great.

The only thing that detracts from this presentation is the annoying fact that the English subtitles are burned in, which I consider to be a very disappointing flaw in a new DVD release. They are, at least, in an easy to read white lettering with black outlines, and the translation is satisfactory. If it weren't for the subtitles, I'd easily give Lucía Lucía four stars for video quality.

Audio

The Spanish Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is well done, providing a very clean and clear sound; dialogue is crisp and distinct, and the other elements of the soundtrack are well balanced. The use of surround is fairly subtle but handled well, producing a nice sense of immersion in the world of the film.

English subtitles are included, and are not optional.

Extras

Two main special features are included, offering fans of the film some interesting material, but nothing out of this world. First of all, we get a full audio commentary from writer/director Antonio Serrano. Unfortunately, it's in English, not his native Spanish. Sure, he speaks English reasonably well, but it would make much more sense for him to express himself more naturally and smoothly in Spanish.

We also get two short "making-of" featurettes, parts 1 and 2 of "Detrás de Cámaras: The Making of Lucía Lucía." Part 1 is on the widescreen side of the DVD, and Part 2 is on the pan-and-scan side. These are the typical promotional-style featurettes: lots (and I do mean lots) of clips from the film interspersed with interviews with the three main actors, director Antonio Serrano, and a few other members of the crew. The interviews mostly focus on the participants' thoughts on their characters, or the theme of the film. There's nothing really substantial here, so if you've already seen the film you won't be terribly interested, but enough of the story is given away in the film clips that a lot of the movie will be spoiled if you haven't already seen it. At least the making-of featurettes have all the participants speaking in their native Spanish; English subtitles are included (and can't be turned off).

Final thoughts

If you're looking for a film that's fresh, imaginative, and extremely well done, then Lucía Lucía is exactly the film you're looking for. It's simultaneously a character-driven film about finding identity, love, and happiness midway through life, and a mystery thriller about Lucía's search for her missing husband; if you're curious about how those two things can be woven together into one cohesive and charming film, then that's another reason to watch this movie. On top of that, the excellent anamorphic widescreen transfer (marred only by the burned-in English subtitles) and Dolby 5.1 sound make it very easy to give this film a "highly recommended."