Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Teresa Simone, Netflix’s ‘Desire,’ also known as ‘Deseo,’ begins with Lucero Cortina, a talented lawyer, celebrating 20 years of marriage with Fernando Cortina, a wealthy club owner. While it is easy to think that they make for a power couple, that label holds up only superficially. Inside, minor cracks have started to form and widen over the years, and it isn’t because of some apparent fault in their nature. Rather, both Lucero and Fernando come to identify that the spark that once made them special is no longer there.
Teasingly, Lucero suggests that they might need something external to spice up the relationship, but at that point, she doesn’t know that she is about to meet just the right person. Matias, a swimming instructor coaching the Cortinas’ daughter, is awe-struck by Lucero in all of her magnificent presence. On some level, though, the feeling is mutual, and before long, the duo begins exploring their sexual fantasies, boundaries, and initiatives. In this tantalizing Spanish-language erotic drama film, sex becomes a medium of storytelling, conveying an entire journey in motion. SPOILERS AHEAD.
5. Lucero’s Sex Fantasy
The first scene on the list draws its sensuality entirely from imagination, as Lucero fantasizes about being touched, kissed, and caressed by a person whose face we never even see. Given how this happens right after her first meeting with Matias, it is entirely possible that he is the object of her fantasy, but the larger point of the scene lies elsewhere. Lucero, frustrated with what has so far been a picture-perfect marriage with hardly any steam in it, yearns passionately, even if there isn’t an immediate face to whom she wants to make love. It is also implied that Fernando listens in as Lucero touches herself, and this is likely the moment that sets off the story that follows, one that is full of scenes that build off of it.
4. Lucero and Matias Have Sneaky Sex in a Storage Room
When it comes to Matias and Lucero’s brief but sexually charged affair, the theme is complete unpredictability. It isn’t enough to just find a charming man and hook up with him, as what Lucero really wants is to make love in totally novel ways, and in totally novel places. Fittingly, the second time the duo has sex, they ditch the familiar, comfortable setting of a room and a bed and sneak into a storage room. There, surrounded by cans, supplies, and junk, Lucero finds the pleasure in its purest form. The real intrigue of this scene, and the reason it lands at the fourth sport, is that it amplifies the primal fear of getting caught at any moment, which, in turn, only highlights how badly Lucero and Matias want each other.
5. Lucero and Matias Make Love
While risque sex has its perks, there is something magical about a steamy night under the sheets, and that is precisely what Lucero wishes for her third date to be. After their familiar romantic ritual at the club, Lucero and Matias check into a lavish hotel room, where they have all the time, space, and hunger for each other that is needed. The beauty of this scene lies in how slowly the two move into the action, almost as if tracing each other’s bodies and consciousness to find the right spot. This is also the first time we see their after-sex routine, which is one of cozy hugs, funny, and often brutally honest conversations. For a moment, we can almost believe that this is two people in love, but reality is far more twisted, and in this case, rough.
2. The Eat-Out
The first time Lucero and Matias have sex is still the wildest, most explosive scene of the movie by far, which is why it lands itself the penultimate spot on this list. As the duo makes its way out of the club’s red-lit room, they find themselves in a rather unromantic alley, but that can hardly stop feelings from bursting forth. The scene, despite being fast-paced, charts every little step and nuance in Lucero’s first moment of intimacy with the young swimmer, as they hug, kiss and touch, before Matias goes down on her. In many ways, this is the first moment of release for Lucero after possibly years, and fittingly, the scene shapes itself entirely around her, and her pleasure. While the movie has many sex scenes under its belt, none are as fiery as this one.
1. Lucero and Fernando Find Catharsis Through Sex
The first stop in this list is bagged by the last scene of the movie, which surprisingly does not involve Matias at all. Rather, this is when Lucero and Fernando make love at last, almost as if washing down their secrets in a moment of boundless ecstasy. On a thematic level, it makes a lot of sense for this to be the most potent scene of the movie, as the very premise is rooted in Lucero and Fernando’s inability to have a perfect sex life. What they needed was a catalyst, and while Matias fits into that role pretty tamely early on, by the end, we are made privy to a much darker side of the story.
When Lucero climbs on top of Fernando, it is a moment of her retaking power in this sexual and emotional relationship, having evolved after her time with Matias. At no point in the story is it ever in doubt that Lucero is the one in control of the dynamic, and the moment Matias tries to question it, he is ruthlessly silenced. As Lucero resumes her love life with Fernando, the scene noticeably doesn’t show much of him. Instead, the spotlight is reserved for Lucero and Lucero alone, as the scene proclaims that she has now embraced every bit of her body and mind.
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