Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Teresa Simone, Netflix’s ‘Desire,’ or ‘Deseo,’ revolves around the Cortinas, who have achieved immense professional success on their respective fronts but have a somewhat hollow marriage. After 20 years of being together, Lucero wishes for something new to spice up her sexual life, and the answer arrives in the form of Matias. Hired as the new swimming instructor at the Cortinas’ Club Aqua Lomas, Matias turns out to be a former member of the Spanish Olympic team who had to withdraw due to certain shortcomings.
After missing out on the towering world of sports, Matias finds himself across continents, hopelessly attracted to Lucero. Thus begins a passionate affair that ends up affecting every bit of Lucero’s personal life in this Spanish-language erotic drama, with Club Aqua Lomas silently weaving in and out of the screen and laying out some of the most sensuous as well as shocking moments of the film.
Club Aqua Lomas is a Fictional Club Designed as the Primary Setting of the Movie
Club Aqua Lomas is a fictional club created by writers Giulia Cardamone and Vanessa Miklos specifically for the world of ‘Desire.’ As the main backdrop of the film, Club Lomas essentially serves as an extension of the characters’ psyches, amplifying the grayer shades of the story as it goes on. While not a real location, the club was likely lensed in real sports or country clubs, given how it features a number of sports grounds, rinks, and pools as a part of its visual canvas. However, as of writing, the creators have not pinpointed any particular filming location as of writing.
It is also possible that the writers drew vague references from real-life sports clubs in Mexico, such as The Reforma Athletic Club, located at San Juan Totoltepec, in Naucalpan de Juárez, or Club France, located at Francia 75-Interior, Florida, in the Álvaro Obregón region of Mexico. While there are superficial similarities between these real-life clubs and the fictional Club Aqua Lomas, the latter appears to be purely invented in its finer details. This move allows the writing team to pen the larger narrative more freely, as the integration of Matias, a fictional swimming instructor, is central to the plot.
At its heart, ‘Desire’ is a story about challenging taboos about sex and human relationships, and Club Aqua Lomas serves as the perfect background to that tale. In an interview with Informador, director Teresa Simone noted that desire is a driving force for existence, and serves as a constant feeling that drives forward change both on a personal and larger level. For the story to challenge taboos, then, is an expansion of what it means to desire something or someone, and the movie captures that to perfection. The fact that all of this happens in a sports club is fitting, as the setting is all about passionate people coming together for self-actualization, which also happens to be the thematic core of ‘Desire’ as well.
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