Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Fulke
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
ptb-8
Imitating another person's already successful work does not automatically make yours the same... here we have a film that is an imitation Almodovar pic from about 1989.. a sort of musical version of WOMEN ON THE VERGE mixed with ideas from MY PRIVATE IDAHO and imagery from The UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG or the mid 60s Mediterranean musicals from Italy or even Greece (Aliki Vougyouklaki, all is forgiven)... 20 CENTERMETERS is actually a funny/charming idea in that it is about someone desperate who has narcolepsy and when asleep imagines big musical numbers... but that is the extent of the funny or genuinely attractive part. sadly, guess what, and yes no surprise, it is set in the world of street prostitutes, selfish squabbling misfits and shabby apartment blocks with miserable squalor. Why? This film could be more like CLUELESS for adults rather than obvious extensions of already grimy scenes copied from Almodovar. I wanted to like this film but I became tired of it and found the musical numbers, whilst slavishly amusing just became tiresome. The sexual content is far too explicit and the bathroom scenes while our 'leading actress' is alone and getting off on herself are truly disgusting. 20 Centimeters is a disappointment... and I never thought I would ever say that.
ekeby
Vibrant music, bright colors, drag queens and transgenders working the street, pathos, laughter--you name it, this film's got it. You'll find much of the same in any Almodovar film, but this isn't Almodovar by a long shot. You have to admire a lot about it, the actors, the direction, the inventive costumes and make up, but ultimately, despite the catalog of intriguing aspects, the film doesn't add up to very much. Marieta's narcolepsy doesn't serve the plot except as a device for dream sequence song and dance numbers. These episodes seemed like music videos dropped in out of nowhere. While they're bright and energetic, a lot of the time I couldn't help thinking how much better they would have been--particularly the choreography--if done by an American studio in the 1940s and '50s. I shock myself when I admit that, but it's what came to mind as I watched this film.There's enough storyline in this movie for three separate films, which is part of the problem and part of the charm. Although I don't regret having seen 20 Centimeters, I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to see it, unless you're part of the trans-gendered community. In which case, it's part of your heritage.
Red-125
"20 Centímetros" (2005), written and directed by Ramón Salazar, is the story of a transvestite who would like to be rid of the 20 centimeters-- about 8 inches--of sexual organ that prevents her from being the woman she wants to be. The plot becomes more complex because Marieta (Mónica Cervera) falls in love with a man who likes her just the way she is.There are two more subplots--one involves Marieta's house-mate, who is a wildly inept businessman, and the other is about a woman who lives in Marieta's apartment house and who is involved with some very shady deals, that are often frustrated because she can't find a babysitter.The supposed charm of the movie comes from the fact that Marieta has narcolepsy. When she falls into a trance, she dreams of herself in Technicolor musical production numbers. The problem with this film for me was that the musical numbers, which should have kept the movie from just being a Spanish "Transamerica," weren't very charming. The classic movie musicals are colorful and vibrant--these were more cutting edge and threatening.I don't see "20 Centimetros" as a GLBT film any more than "Transamerica" was a GLBT film. However, when it was shown at Rochester's Dryden Theatre, the crowd was composed almost exclusively of gay male couples. The man who introduced the film said the he chose it because of the musical numbers. I'm not sure if he had previewed it before he selected it. It's the kind of movie that looks better on paper than it plays on the screen.
bijou-2
this story of a narcoleptic transvestite hooker with more than an angry inch has the audacity to open with a musical number from the Spanish classic TOMBOLA. It's stands the Spanish musical on it's head better than even Almodovar has managed before.For those familiar with Spanish cinema from the Franco era, this is a worthy companion piece to BAD EDUCATION. The two films together are the equivalent of a stealth attack on SARITA MONTIEL, MARISOL and JOSELITO movies.For those unfamiliar, what remains is a camp satire of the MTV generation where style overcomes substance and drama is really black comedy no matter how tragic.Fine performances from a great cast, particularly Monica Cervera, who manages to be ugly and sexy at the same time and Pablo Puyol as the masculine stud who likes Marieta's eight inches a little too much.Worth seeing at once!
