Intacto

INTACTO — *** — Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusebio Poncela, Max von Sydow, Monica Lopez, Antonio Dechent; in English and Spanish, with English subtitles rated R (profanity, violence, brief gore, brief nudity); see "Playing at local movie theaters" for complete listing of local theaters.

It is tempting to write off the Spanish fantasy-thriller "Intacto" as little more than lucky, which would be ironic since the film deals with the fickleness of fortune.

The film's major concept — that luck can be given and taken away arbitrarily — is a bit gimmicky, but the film has well-developed characters and style to spare.

"Intacto" refers to Tomas (Argentinian star Leonardo Sbaraglia), a young thief who is also the "lucky" survivor of a horrific plane crash. In fact, his survival is such a freak occurrence that he finds himself pursued by Federico (Eusebio Poncela), a man who may have the power to "jinx" others with just a touch.

There's a twist, though: Federico wants to teach Tomas how to hone his own unique "skill," so Federico can exact revenge on his mentor, Sam (Max von Sydow), who runs a rather unusual "casino" in the middle of the desert.

Tomas is also being followed by Sara (Monica Lopez), a policewoman who also survived a horrific tragedy, and who is now trying to locate the casino as well.

The film hinges on the notion that human beings are subject to the whims of chance rather than fate. But it's a subject near and dear to director/co-screenwriter Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who witnessed an airline disaster in 1977.

"Intacto" recalls both last year's "Nine Queens" and M. Night Shyamalan's neglected "Unbreakable." But it also stands on its own, thanks to refreshing originality and some terrific performances. Sbaraglia and Poncela each have a charismatic presence. And as the villain, von Sydow is subtle and quite menacing.

Some of the plotting is a bit murky and strains credibility. However, there's just enough intrigue to keep the audience around for the dark ironic ending.

"Intacto" is rated R for occasional use of strong sex-related profanity, violence (gunplay, vehicular and brief violence against a woman), brief gore and brief female nudity. Running time: 108 minutes.

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