A free ride – everybody wants one, but only a few chosen souls are lucky enough to get one. In Pedro Almodovar’s Live Flesh or Carne Tremula, this idea is beautifully captured in the character of Victor Plaza (Liberto Rabal).

Rabal, surely destined to become the next Spanish sex-god in America, puts forth a deliciously hysterical and emotional performance as a wrongfully-convicted man, whose plan for redemption never quite materializes. Nevertheless, he has an incredible impact on the lives of those responsible for his jailing. From the start of this very funny story, in which Victor’s birth on a city bus entitles him to a lifetime of free bus rides, the laughs and the twists keep coming.

After Victor’s birth in Madrid, the film jumps ahead 20 years where Victor, a pizza-delivery man, is on his way to a date with the girl of his dreams. Supposedly, he lost his virginity to her the week before, but that is debatable. The rich diplomat’s daughter, Elena, does not even remember their one-night fling in the bathroom stalls.

Hurt, Victor sneaks up to her apartment to confront her and gets caught in a somewhat absurd showdown between himself, Elena, a drunk cop and another young, heroic policeman. In the ensuing struggle, the young cop accidentally is shot and paralyzed. Victor is convicted of the crime and spends an awful three years in jail, reading the bible and practicing karate.

Upon his release, Victor immediately, through unforeseen and incredibly coincidental circumstances, becomes entangled in the lives of the people he sees as responsible for his imprisonment. The drunk cop and his cheating wife, and the diplomat’s daughter – now married to the paralyzed cop – all are greatly changed by Victor’s reentrance into their lives.

Victor, whose life has been anything but a free ride, finds redemption and hope in his new life. Unable to follow through in his plan for revenge, he becomes a passive participant in the jumbled and downward-spiraling lives and relationships of the other characters.

This satirical drama deals with the problems of infidelity, love and hope in extremely bright and fresh ways. Victor shows the importance of letting go of the past in order to find the positive in the present. The dark, satirical elements combined with the brilliant turns of the plot make moments of clarity embraced by the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the audience.

Though the movie does use subtitles, they do not hinder the film. Live Flesh is far from the formulaic trash of Hollywood and instead, explores a new path that leads to its success.Live Flesh is now playing.4 hatchets