Full Body Massage - El Masaje

If we can take the focus of attention from Mimi Rogers' bosom for a moment or two (an undeniably difficult task as it is an admirable example of the type) we find that we have a love story. However, this is a Nic Roeg film, so we don't have to endure 90 minutes of deluded, mawkish junk. Instead we are treated to witnessing the development of true intimacy between the protagonists, the stereotypical successful art dealer, and the brusque subversive "mysticism" of Fitch - Bryan Brown's character.It is all done in typical Nic Roeg flashback and parallel fantasy scenes which work very well. The script is really a philosophical debate about love and life but the deepening psychological intimacy mirrored in the intimacy of the massage, ultimately helping both characters to move on to a new phase of life, makes for an engaging, possibly even profound, film.

Was ok

Would be even more enjoyable on BLU-RAY !!

If you are expecting a soft porn film, then you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand you are looking for a film in which to immerse yourself in the characters and appreciate the script and first class acting then give this one a go. Unfortunately, it is only available from America or Australia, but it looks as if the Australian disc will play on UK players. The story is of a developing love between two people who differ and argue but who are drawn together by their talk and by the massage sessions received by Nina by Fitch, both roles superbly played by Mimi Rogers and Bryan Brown. It is the baring of the soul as well as the body although what little nudity is shown is tastefully done. Highly recommended.

Tq received in order

I finally got my dvd after 6 weeks of waiting. That is just not good enough, and I'm far from satisfied.They blamed the mail-system for throwing away my dvd...last time I shop here....

Mimi Rogers was something of a hot item in the 1990s and it’s easy to see why in this film (1995), as she bares all (or nearly all). She’s 38 or 39 but looks ten years younger. She’s beautiful and shapely. The camera thinks so too, lingering on her skin and curves. There’s no sex in the film per se, yet the hint of it — like the powerful scent of essential body oils — is never far away. There’s a hedonism to her character (Nina) that dwells on physical beauty to the point of self-absorption, even exhibitionism. Some themes from Oscar Wilde’s classic “The Picture of Dorian Gray” are also present here: vanity, narcissism, beauty and decay.The mirror is Nina’s best friend. She has many in her spacious home, including a full-length one in her bedroom. In it she examines her body in detail. Recently she’s been worried about her tummy. Although she runs and works out, it’s hard to keep trim. Her breasts, too, once so round and firm, are starting to sag, stretch marks horridly coming in.She has always loved her mirrors. But even her face, always so unblemished and beautiful, is beginning to betray her now. A faint outline of wrinkles, ever so subtle, is now appearing. Make-up will help (it always does), but even such magic has its limits.Nina is an art dealer and gallery owner. Successful too, if the material world surrounding her is anything to go by: a sprawling estate in the hills above Los Angeles, a large garden, outdoor jacuzzi, slick Mercedes in the drive, beautiful furniture, lucrative paintings on the walls. The beauty of her looks is matched by her surroundings. Yet there’s stress. She gets headaches and her muscles cramp up. Stretching and yoga help, but evidently not enough. Where is this stress and pressure coming from? We hardly see her work. Mainly she lounges like a princess in her palace.She isn’t married now. Instead, she goes fishing for her pleasures. Last year she was seeing a young poor painter named Harry Willis. But Harry was ambivalent. What did her desires mean? By making love to her was he just a conduit for her self-love? Harry is sensitive, you see. He minds being used. He doesn’t want to be her toy, anyone’s toy. When she enthuses about his art does she really mean it? He doubts it. He guesses she’s just lonely. It’s his body, not his art, she appreciates. Some men wouldn’t mind this. Perhaps most wouldn’t. Harry does. He doesn’t like the set-up. He’d rather be poor and free than be a kept sex-pet on a chain. He soon faded from Nina’s life, walked away from her.Open niches will always be filled. So says nature. So says Darwin. Into the niche vacated by Harry comes Fitch, not looking for anything apart from a few bucks. He’s a freelance masseur. In this case he’s even less than freelance — he’s fill-in. Nina’s regular masseur (Douglas) isn’t available this afternoon. He had to cancel the appointment. But he likes Nina and doesn’t wish to disappoint her, so he asks Fitch to fill in for him.Douglas is young and beautiful. Nina loves his strong hands and sensitive face. The massages have a threefold purpose for her: to relieve tension, to be in company of her choosing, and to angle for love if she can induce it. What she doesn’t know or even suspect is that Douglas has no physical interest in her. He might recognise her beauty as she recognises his, but he’s not interested in the potential pleasures of women, preferring his own gender for them.Fitch and Douglas are just friends, not sleeping companions. Fitch is a rugged, down-to-earth type. A definite non-conformist, he loves his freedom more than work, wages, money.His car is an old clunker, his duds clean but rather ragged, his face unshaven. Plus he’s an Aussie, not an American. He’s got a bit of an Outback twang to his voice. He plays it up for Americans, perhaps, just to be different. He likes the Yanks. They’re friendly. But he doesn’t want to be one of them. They’re largely superficial and self-regarding, at least here in L.A.Nina is surprised to see Fitch’s lined, sunburned face. He stands at her door. Who are you? I’m Fitch, he says, a friend of Douglas. He couldn’t make it. Didn’t he call you?Douglas didn’t call. Or if he did he forgot to leave a message on her machine. Fitch is his proxy, the stand-in masseur.Douglas is a man of few words. He just gets on with the job. Or one could say his hands do the talking. And from the look on his face (seen in frequent flashbacks) he more or less makes love to her with his hands. Why? For profit, big tips. He has no intention of pleasing her in other ways (as previously stated), but she doesn’t know this. Fitch is different. He’ll take the money, but he barely thinks about it.Nina doesn’t either. She has a lot and has seen a lot of it. Her husband must have been rich. At any rate, the divorce settlement looks to have been handsome. Money bores her, brings no relief. What she needs is human touch. She may pay for it, true, but the touch and effect are real. She loves how it feels. Clothes, too, more or less bore her. She prefers to be naked, unfettered, unconfined. Fitch begins to like this about her, to sense a kindred spirit. Nina cannot express how she feels in philosophical terms, or doesn’t try. But Fitch doesn’t care, as he knows how words can get in the way of things.He’s free. He senses Nina wants to be too. She has surrounded herself with the emblems of freedom: no husband, no pressing job, financial independence. But she’s blocked by internal issues, mental issues concerning beauty and self-worth. Beauty for her is tangible, material. It’s artwork. It’s her skin. Fitch’s world of beauty is vaster. He lives somewhere in the Aboriginal Dreamtime, in visions far deeper, far more beautiful than artwork.Fitch becomes a regular at Nina’s estate. His hands are strong. Yet his real strength, true medicine, comes from his voice and stories. He has travelled widely, even spending time with the Hopi Indians in the deserts of the American Southwest.There is hope for Nina because she listens and wants to change. In the past she didn’t know how to change. Running, yoga and massage were not the answers. They touched the surface. Fitch instead touches something deeper.Her story turns out better than Dorian Gray’s. Dorian’s narcissism drove him to madness, despair, death. With Nina there’s now a chance she’ll age with acceptance and grace. She may even come to love a man who is not a reflection of her beauty, seeing in him a beauty previously hidden from her.

the film was quite good I would recommend it to anyone who is fairly broad and quite opened minded person