Intacto
d. Fresnadillo
2001
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220580/
Not actually about poker, but does deal with gambling, luck, and the darker motivations of the human animal, so I thought I recommend it to those who are interested in gamblin' oriented movies. It's a Spanish production and definitely plays like many arthouse European arthouse movies, which I have an unusually high tolerance for. There's plenty of action to move the plot along and while there's guns, a car crash or two, and naked breasts, don't excpet this to view like Die Hard. The subtext of the movie is fate/luck as commodity and the question is begged whether it is inherent in a person or not. As far as texture the closest American films for comparison would be "Hard Eight". As far as similar themes "the Cooler".
The performances are excellent, Eusebieo Poncela in particular being able to convey cool, compassion, and that certain air of world weary misery and meance unlike many I've seen. Max Von Sydow makes an appearance as Samuel "the Jew". There are a few holes in the plot but it's a very engaging film which I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to those not afraid of EuroCinema.
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