Intacto

Spain

2001

108 Min

Color

2.35:1

Spanish, English

Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
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EXEC Fernando Bovaira, Enrique López Lavigne

SCR Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Andrés M. Koppel

CAST Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusebio Poncela, Mónica López, Antonio Dechent, Max von Sydow, Guillermo Toledo, Alber Ponte

MUSIC Lucio Godoy

Cannes (Semaine de la critique), AFI FEST, Sundance (World Cinema), Stockholm (Collage), Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema)

Synopsis

A concentration camp survivor named Samuel Berg (Max von Sydow), a preternaturally lucky fellow, runs a European casino. One of his workers is Federico (Eusebio Poncela), a man who “steals” other people’s luck merely by laying a hand on them. When Samuel Berg has a fall out with Federico and takes away his powers, Federico sets out to find the luckiest man alive (Leonardo Sbaraglia), the lone survivor of a plane crash, in order to use his powers to overpower Samuel Berg in the one game he has never lost: Russian roulette using a revolver, with five of the six chambers loaded. Federico takes his partner through a series of tests in order to confirm his abilities. In the process they approach the tightening circle of underground chance games that will eventually lead them both, and a female cop on their heels, to a final showdown with Samuel Berg.

Director

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (born 5 December 1967) is a Spanish film director, script writer, and producer. He directed Intacto and 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. His film Esposados was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1996. Fresnadillo was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. In 1985, Fresnadillo moved to Madrid.
He started out in photography and cinema studies and then began his career in short films. In 1987, he set up a production company, which produced several short films and commercials. Fresnadillo went on to become a production assistant for Gustavo Fuertes’ short film El juicio final (1991) (US title The Final Judgement 1991).

In 1996, he had his debut with the black-and-white short film Esposados (US title: Linked), for which he was also the executive producer. The black comedy tells the story of a couple who are constantly fighting over money; when they find themselves winning the Christmas lottery… read more

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (born 5 December 1967) is a Spanish film director, script writer, and producer. He directed Intacto and 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. His film Esposados was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1996. Fresnadillo was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. In 1985, Fresnadillo moved to Madrid.
He started out in photography and cinema studies and then began his career in short films. In 1987, he set up a production company, which produced several short films and commercials. Fresnadillo went on to become a production assistant for Gustavo Fuertes’ short film El juicio final (1991) (US title The Final Judgement 1991).

In 1996, he had his debut with the black-and-white short film Esposados (US title: Linked), for which he was also the executive producer. The black comedy tells the story of a couple who are constantly fighting over money; when they find themselves winning the Christmas lottery, however, they have such different ideas about what to do next that the husband tries to get rid of his wife. Esposados won 40 national and international awards. It was also nominated for an “Oscar” for Best Short Film in the same year, making Fresnadillo an overnight star in Spain.

In 2000, Fresnadillo was the presenter for the Goya Award in Best Short Film. In 2002, Fresnadillo directed his debut full-length picture, the thriller Intacto. The film received several awards, most notably two 2002 Goya Awards (one of them for Fresnadillo in the category of Best New Director) and six further Goya nominations.

He then completed the 3-minute black-and-white picture Psicotaxi (2002), starring and portraying Alejandro Jodorowsky.

In 2006, he directed 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to Danny Boyle’s 2002 film 28 Days Later. Fresnadillo direct in June 2010 the psychological horror thriller Intruders and is set to direct 2011 the film adaption of the video game BioShock.

On April 7, 2011 it was announced that he will be directing and co-writing the screenplay for the remake of The Crow. —Wikipedia

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