Sexual Dependency (2003)
"Dependencia sexual" (original title)

Five teenagers in the U.S. and Bolivia try to make sense of their sexuality and the complexity of their identity.

Director:

Rodrigo Bellott

Writers:

Rodrigo Bellott, Lenelle N. Moise

Stars:

Alexandra Aponte, Roberto Urbina, Jorge Antonio Saavedra

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alexandra Aponte	...	Jessica
Roberto Urbina	...	Sebastian
Jorge Antonio Saavedra	...	Choco
Ronica V. Reddick	...	Adinah
Matthew Guida	...	Tyler
Matt Cavenaugh	...	Sean
Rodrigo Mendez-Roca	...	Fabian, Sebastian's Cousin
Liv Fruyano	...	Love, Choco's girlfriend
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Budd	...	Nick
Damien Carter	...	Jeremiah
Pablo Fernandez	...	Joaquin, Fabian's best friend
Elba Flores	...	Mrs. Lopez, Isabel's Mother
Ronald Flores	...	Josue, Jessica's classmate
Ignacio Ichazo	...	Chichito
Malinda Logan	...	Obnoxious R.A.

Storyline

A poor girl, a rich stud, a university student and a model -- nothing in common, except the desire to experience true intimacy. Their stories unfold and overlap as each becomes victim to their own sexual dependencies, self-perceptions and illusions. Thematically structured around issues of femininity, masculinity, virginity, rape and sexuality, each teen struggles to make sense of their own identity, reaching for ideals that represent everything they feel they are supposed to be, but are not.

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Plot Keywords:

sexuality | student | bolivia | rape | virginity | 

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Taglines:

Bare your body, bare your soul.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Bolivia USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 September 2004 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Elämä polttaa

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Company Credits

Production Co:

BoSD Films LLC, Bods Film LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 110 min (VHS)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Might have been a good movie

With generosity and patience one could appreciate this movie. However, the director's choice of using split screens throughout is an overwhelming mistake that gets in the way of everything else he is trying to do. It becomes annoying, like receiving text totally underlined and in capital letters: not everything is equally important nor do the images on one side of the screen contribute continuously in any significant way to what happens on the other side nor enhance our grasp of the whole. So, we are regretfully left with a boring and pretentious conceit of the sort that should have been outgrown in film school. Rodrigo Bellott is nowhere near being a Peter Greenaway who can manipulate aspect ratios and split screens to profound dramatic effect, thereby creating effective, well-structured wholes (e.g. The Pillow Book, a film only done full justice on a theatre screen where the diverse aspect ratios which occur throughout the film can be shown.... DVD's can't do it).

Better luck next time.... and I truly hope there is a next time for Mr. Bellott. Forcing oneself to ignore his unfortunate aesthetic choice (and this is hard, for there is no avoiding it for the whole frigging movie) one realizes that Mr. Bellott may indeed have something worthwhile to say. I wish him to try again, preferably with a strong, experienced but sensitive producer at his side.