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Original Sin | 2001 | R | - 8.5.2

This mystery, with more than a couple of twists and turns, is set in Cuba in the late 1800s. Antonio Banderas stars as a wealthy business man who arranges to marry an American woman by mail. Angelina Jolie arrives, they marry but after a short and very passionate time she runs away with a lot of his money. Realizing she was an impostor all along, he becomes obsessed with finding her and exacting revenge. Also with Thomas Jane, Jack Thompson and Gregory Itzin. [1:56]

SEX/NUDITY 8 - There's a lot of cleavage throughout, several shots of a woman's bare breasts, some sexual innuendo, some explicit sex talk, and some talk of visiting prostitutes. A man and a woman neck and kiss several times, often passionately. There are a couple of scenes in a bordello, and one is explicit: prostitutes walk around topless, smiling and inviting men; we see a few through open doors. One is sitting on a man's lap and moves rhythmically (she's clothed); one open door reveals a woman breast-feeding her baby; another reveals a naked prostitute sponging and cleaning herself. There are a couple of sex scenes. One is extended: the married participants are nude and we see several shots of the woman's breasts -- the man gropes her bosom a couple of times. We see them from different angles, including from above, as they are entangled with the man on top, and between the woman's legs. The woman's head also moves toward the man's crotch and judging from his facial expression she's presumably engaged in fellatio. During another scene a couple shares a small metal bathtub. We see them lying in it and the woman is topless. We see a topless woman riding a horse during a street carnival. A man tries to seduce a woman, kisses the top of her cleavage, holds her from behind and undoes her dress. She then makes him leave. A man grabs a woman and gropes her while talking to her (he's being both threatening and sexually inviting). She seems conflicted between passion and revulsion. Several men impose themselves on a woman. We see one grabbing at her crotch; she seems resigned and does not resist, and the scene ends. Two men are struggling and one man flicks his tongue at the other man and then kisses him hard on the mouth. We see a totally naked man from behind. A man spits in a woman's mouth, and a man uses a knife to make a small incision on the back of an apparently acquiescent woman, right under several scars from previous incisions (the context seems sadomasochistic). We see a naked young girl (the context is not sexual).

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - During a fight between several men a few punches are thrown, a man is kicked and a man attempts to hit another with a bottle. One man is thrown down the stairs, we see him lying in the street, and his face is very bloody. We later see him with a bruised face. A man grabs another man by the throat, and a man grabs another by the lapel. A man violently slaps a woman several times, and threatens her with a gun. A man twists and holds a woman's arm behind her back, and a man holds a knife to a woman's throat. A man is shot twice, one time at very close range. We see some blood on his vest. A man is shot several times and he falls back holding his stomach. No blood is evident. We see a man holding his stomach and frothing at the mouth after ingesting poison. Men talk of a woman having been stabbed in the throat with a small knife and then thrown overboard into the sea. We also hear of a body having been washed to shore. And a man and a woman talk of disposing a corpse by putting it in a trunk. Two men punch each other during a friendly boxing bout (both are wearing boxing gloves). A man uses a knife to make a small but bloody incision on a woman's back (which has been obviously scarred by older incisions).

LANGUAGE 2 - A couple of anatomical terms, several religious exclamations, a few milder obscenities, and several insults.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Love vs. lust, fraud, orphanages, promiscuity, prostitution, mail-order brides, gambling and cheating, smoking cigars.

MESSAGE - Love can conquer all, and makes everything else (guilt, conscience, legal entanglements) inconsequential.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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