Sexual Dependency (2003)

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

2 wins & 3 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
Versee Damien	...	Jeremiah (as Damien Carter)
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:

rape | vomiting | cleaning a car windshield | american flag | throwing eggs | 

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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:

Dependência Sexual

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Company Credits

Production Co:

BoSD Films LLC, Bods Film LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 110 min (video)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Bolivia for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 76th Academy Awards in 2004.

User Reviews

A missed opportunity

I think this could have been a good film, but, as others have mentioned, the split-screen 'style' (?) is incredibly annoying over 100-odd minutes of watching, or, in this case, watching TWICE. That adds up to 200-odd minutes of watching five different stories, all while distracting you with camera gimmickry.

In the mid-1960s, a graphic designer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada named Chris Chapman created the split-screen idea for a short film on the Province of Ontario for the provincial government. It was a sensation at Expo '67 in Montreal, and was such a novel idea that Toronto director Norman Jewison (and others) used it in 1960s films.

The idea, predictably, went nowhere. It was trendy, had flair, but was not sustainable over the length of an entire film. Jewison used it sparingly in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and it annoyed critics even then. And here, almost 40 years later, we have a director who thinks it would be a great idea to try it again, this time (unlike Jewison, who was far more judicious) over the ENTIRE STRETCH of a movie.

I was astounded that this was done. It defies basic physical laws. The human eye just cannot catch up with a blizzard of jump cuts (and that's what they really amount to) over a feature-length. Instead of intensifying the drama, it instead made me truly irritated.

Repeat: I THINK this could have been a good film. Or is that films, as in plural?