O Fantasma (2000)

O Fantasma (2000). 1h 27m | Unrated

“Iu0026#39;ve seen this film twice–once at the cinema and about a year later, on DVD. I too wondered if something had been cut from the film–there is an abrupt transition about three-quarters of the way through that is jarring. As a psychologist, I see this as a work of art that functions, like a dream, to take the viewer into the inner self of the protagonist as well into oneu0026#39;s own inner self. While a dream can change scenes abruptly and without logical transitions, the logical mind is still at work as we watch a film, and an illogical or unexplained transtion can actually be distracting, as I found it to be in this film. One further question–or criticism about the editing or story line–the film opens with its climactic scene at the very beginning, involving Sergio, the protagonist, and the object of his obsessive desire. It is extremely erotic and disturbing and putting it right at the beginning–it is never returned to–leaves one with a sense of incompleteness at the end of the film. That said, I found the film to be extraordinarily truthful psychologically, just as our deepest fantasies are truthful–its explicitness was entirely appropriate and not pornographic. The essence of pornography is denial of feeling, but the film is saturated with feeling. The extraordinary beauty of the lead actor will evoke in the viewer either empathy or desire or both–and one admires his willingness to play his role with all stops out and with utter dedication.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDefinitely worth seeing.”