The Ages of Lulu

Bigas Luna's adaptation of Almudena Grandes' provocative novel arrives with visual flair but struggles to transform literary sensuality into compelling cinema. The film's atmosphere oscillates between Madrid's sun-drenched streets and shadowy underground spaces, creating a visual dichotomy that mirrors its protagonist's journey from innocence to experience. Luna's camera work captures intimate moments with a voyeuristic intensity, though the cinematography occasionally feels more calculated than organic, particularly during the film's more explicit sequences.

The cast delivers uneven performances across the board. Francesca Neri brings a magnetic presence to the titular Lulú, embodying both vulnerability and awakening desire with natural charisma. Her performance anchors the film's emotional core, even when the script veers into melodramatic territory. Óscar Ladoire as Pablo provides adequate support as the older lover who initiates Lulú's sexual awakening, though his portrayal lacks the complexity needed to make their relationship truly compelling. The supporting cast, including a young Javier Bardem in his film debut, offers glimpses of talent that would later flourish, but here serves more as atmospheric texture than substantial character development.

Luna's direction shows ambition in tackling themes of sexual liberation and self-discovery, yet the execution feels uneven. The film's pacing drags during certain sequences while rushing through others that deserve more contemplation. The explicit content, while integral to the story's exploration of female sexuality, sometimes feels gratuitous rather than genuinely revealing of character or theme. The movie's attempt to balance art house sensibilities with mainstream appeal results in a work that satisfies neither camp completely.

The production design effectively captures early 1990s Madrid, with locations ranging from bourgeois apartments to seedy nightclubs creating a believable world for Lulú's transformation. However, the film's exploration of dangerous sexual territory feels more sensationalist than psychologically truthful, undermining its pretensions toward serious drama about female empowerment and sexual agency.

This early (1990) major feature from Bigas Luna is the one which – not surprisingly – got him noticed. It is an uncompromising study of sexuality, exploring desires which most directors would shy away from – on and probably off the camera. Italian actress Francesca Neri plays the lead character. It's an erotic, uninhibited performance, taking Lulu from an innocent virgin with a crush on her brother's friend to a woman so desperate for carnal gratification that she trawls bars looking for men with which to have three-way sex. For some, the film's frankness – masturbation, homosexual sex and cunnilingus – and exploration of everything from transsexual sex to incest might bring it close to pornography. But it is refreshing to see these challenging areas of sex dealt with by a competent director and good cast of actors. It hints at the themes which would run through Luna's later work, such as Jamon, Jamon and Golden Balls but without the quirky humour of those films. Slightly exhausting, perhaps taking on too much of the dark side of sexuality.

This is the story of a woman through told pretty much through her sex life. As the film progresses we watch as her life goes from one of normalcy to one on the fringes of "normal" society, and its a course mirrored by her sex life. It is a very lurid film that pretty much covers every sexual subject you can think of, and probably some you can't. Its a well made movie that is so close to being an explicit film that one wonders why they didn't bother to go all the way and not shy away from showing it all. But its not really about the sex, since this is a smutty film that has the belief that its about something other than just showing hot sweaty sex. I'm not sure if thats true or not. Actually I'm not sure what I think of this film. frankly its one of those movies that you see and aren't enthused by, but which you find yourself haunted by none the less. There is something about the film that keeps me wondering if its not better than I think it is. Then again it maybe the desire to see the hot sweaty sex again (It really is steamy)

If you're not prudish and ready to deal with sex in all of its varieties then by all means dive in and give it a try. If you are offended by anything other than straight forward heterosexual sex, then stay away.

Aptly described as "pretentious, repellent pornography," The Ages of Lulu is a film you really could do without. Indeed, not only does Spanish director Bigas Luna's (he of Jamón, jamón, Golden Balls and The Tit and the Moon fame) film fire hugely clear of the mark in its attempt at sexually heightened drama, it also suffers from a dodgy cast (Javier Bardem, what were you thinking?), lame acting and a wholly unrealistic plot. Not to put too fine a point on it, then, you'd be better served boiling your head than watching this hyper-sexual and highly explicit 'art house' trash.

On the DVD: The Ages of Lulu is transferred at an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 and image quality is very good, though in some scenes very slightly soft. The film can be watched with or without English subtitles, and the sound is unremarkable stereo. The main extras are a seven-page essay on Bigas Luna and five pages detailing the now restored 110 seconds of cuts made to the 1998 video release. The main title still contains 65 seconds of alternate footage to the cinema original for legal reasons. Also included are filmographies of Lunas and Oscar Ladoire, two trailers plus trailers for six other films.

In Madrid, the teenager Lulu (Francesca Neri) has a crush on Pablo (Oscar Ladoire), who is the best friend of her brother Marcelo (Fernando Guillén Cuervo). One day, they go together to a concert and Lulu loses her virginity with Pablo. However, he travels to the United States and Lulu misses him.

When he returns, they meet each other and Pablo proposes Lulu to marry him. Soon they befriend the travesty Ely (María Barranco) and play sexual games with her. Later they have a daughter, Ines.

One day, after a party, Pablo blindfolds Lulu and proposes a threesome; when Lulu discovers that she had an incestuous relation with Marcelo, she leaves Pablo to live with Ines in an apartment. Lulu feels bored and soon she is addicted in kinky and bizarre sex with gays in the underground of Madrid. Her erotic journey descends to hell when she meets the dangerous Remy (Juan Graell) that invites her to the world of sadomasochism.

"Las Edades de Lulú" is a film by Bigas Luna immediately after the cult "Angustia" that discloses the erotic and dramatic journey of a Spanish woman to the underworld of the bizarre sex in Madrid. I saw this movie for the first time in the early 90's (last time was on 29 Aug 1999 on VHS), and today I have just seen it again on DVD and this film has not aged.

Francesca Neri is very beautiful and sexy and I did not recall that "Las Edades de Lulú" is the debut of Javier Bardem in a feature. I would like to highlight that this movie is sexually violent and perverted reaching the boundary with pornography and is only recommended for very specific audiences. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Idades de Lulu" ("The Ages of Lulu")