The Ages of Lulu (1990)
"Las edades de Lulú" (original title)

The story of a young woman's descent into the kinky and dangerous sexual underground in Madrid.

Director:

Bigas Luna

Writers:

Almudena Grandes (novel), Almudena Grandes,

Stars:

Francesca Neri, Óscar Ladoire, María Barranco

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francesca Neri	...	Lulú
Óscar Ladoire	...	Pablo (as Oscar Ladoire)
María Barranco	...	Ely
Fernando Guillén Cuervo	...	Marcelo
Rosana Pastor	...	Chelo
Javier Bardem	...	Jimmy
Juan Graell	...	Remy
Rodrigo Valverde	...	Pablito
Pilar Bardem	...	Encarna
Marta May	...	Madre de Lulú
Gloria Rodriquez	...	Cristina (as Gloria Rodríguez)
Àngel Jové	...	Alicantino (as Angel Jové)
Ainara Pérez	...	Lulú niña
Juan Sala	...	Padre de Lulú
Pepa Serrano	...	Flamenca

Storyline

In Madrid, teenager Lulu has a crush on Pablo, who is the best friend of her brother Marcelo. One day, they go together to a concert and Lulu loses her virginity to Pablo. However, he travels to the United States and Lulu misses him. When he returns, they meet each other and Pablo proposes to Lulu Soon they befriend Ely 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 that invites her to the world of sadomasochism.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | sex | threesome | sadomasochism | older man younger woman relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

13 December 1990 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Ages of Lulu

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apricot, Iberoamericana Films Internacional

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bigas Luna considered Penélope Cruz for the lead.

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Quotes

Lulú: I never meant to get into incest.

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Soundtracks

"Walkin Blues"
Written by Carlos Segarra

User Reviews

Take a walk on the wild side with Lulu and Pablo.

Bigas Luna is the writer and director of this movie (based on the novel by Almudena Grandes, who also co-wrote the screenplay) that is not for the prudish.

It's a full-blooded, Spanish tale of sex and desire and obsession and from the very opening shots (a baby being covered in talcum powder while the camera stays stubbornly aimed at the naked crotch - an unsubtle portent of what is to come) this provides a lot of discomfort as it explores a journey of exploding sexuality.

Young Lulu gets a date with the older Pablo and is very happy. They fool around but she's reluctant to do as he asks of her (she doesn't want to touch herself and is hesitant to perform oral sex) but Pablo is a persistent guy and charms her and puts her at ease when they get back to a place of privacy. Lulu is so at ease, in fact, that she allows Pablo to shave her pubic region and they then move on to sex. The whole evening becomes a wonderful memory, only ruined later when Lulu finds out that Pablo will be leaving for America. Sometime later, the two are reunited and they have a lot of lost time to make up for. They try as hard as they can. In bed. Together, and with other people present. Life is sexy and good but boundaries keep being pushed and Lulu starts down a path that will take her somewhere very dark indeed.

While this could be, and I'm sure it is, easily dismissed by many as nothing more than shocking pornography masquerading as art, I must say that I really felt myself drawn in to this world of passion mixing with love and getting confused amongst the push for more and more thrills. Pablo, in an early scene, tells Lulu never to confuse love and sex and that's another unsubtle pointer to where the movie is headed. Because it looks at just that kind of confusion - people who look to sexual thrills as some replacement for something they feel is missing from their lives.

The direction is okay, though the structure of the film is little more than a step from one moment of kinkiness to the next, but the story and the acting really helps to make this a watchable movie for more than just the obvious aesthetic pleasure. Francesca Neri moves fantastically from naive young girl to debased sex addict in the role of Lulu, Oscar Ladoire is just fine as the guiding and dominating Pablo, Maria Barranco does well as Ely, Fernando Guillen Cuervo is okay and there's an early, but prominent, role for Javier Bardem (his first credited film role, from what I can see).

Certainly not one to stick on during family gatherings (even the dialogue is unsavoury at times with Pablo saying on a couple of occasions that he wished he had a daughter like Lulu - there's just no way to hear the character say that without feeling slightly grimy), but The Ages Of Lulu is an impressive erotic drama with one or two nasty moments that should please fans of Jess Franco or even someone like Gaspar Noe.