Mas Allá Del Deseo (1992)

Deep in a secluded seashore, a fisherman named Juan (Hugo Stiglitz) and his wife Josefa (Helena Rojo) live a simple & peaceful life together alongside their precious daughter Lupita. When Lupita accidentally drowns in the ocean; Juan and Josefa are crushed that their only child is no longer with them. As they grieve for Lupita during a big storm, a young girl the same age as Lupita appears in their home as an offering by the Gods of the Sea. It seems the gods care for Juan & Josefa very much and have offered them a daughter of theirs for them to care for. The daughter’s name is Ondina. 

Ondina (Cynthia Westbrook) is then raised by Juan and Josefa and she has grown up to be a beautiful woman who spends her days swimming with the creatures of the sea and loving her adoptive parents. One day, a charismatic young man from The city named Christopher (Kyle Anderson) is riding his horse around the secluded seashore and meets Josefa and Juan. They take him in to rest at their home and there he hears the story of Ondina and when he meets her, they both fall in love with each other. Ondina doesn’t know the feelings she feels only until Christopher explains it to her along with how life outside the secluded seashore is. Christopher then takes Ondina from her home to marry her and have her live a life of luxury & comfort. After some steamy sex & Christopher painting an epic portrait of his new bride—things begin to get peculiar around them and when Ondina disappears and later comes back to find Christopher married to his ex-girlfriend Sandra (Gabriela Goldsmith); the gods of the sea make their promise to Ondina a reality by killing him for his betrayal. 

Director Gilberto Martinez Solares had a dream one night and it was a dream set in the water that was so surreal and so beautiful, that he right away wanted to make a film about it. This dream along with adapting the French play Ondine, Mas Allá Del Deseo ("Beyond Desire") was made. Mas Allá Del Deseo to me is such an amazing & beautiful erotic-thriller that came at a time when many other erotic-thrillers were popping up from left to right. Many of those films however were cheaply made & focused more on the actors getting nude on screen and Mas Allá Del Deseo differs from all those films by telling a wonderful, eerie story that justify its erotic scenes. They are scenes of love & lust and so very believable at that. It’s also interesting that this was based on the play “Ondine” and that hasn’t ever been portrayed on film before. Perhaps people don’t even know about that as well.

 The leading actors Kyle Anderson and Cynthia Westbrook were dubbed in Spanish since its clear they are speaking English and are American actors. Everyone else in the film is Mexican and not dubbed over at all. Could an English version of the film exist? Perhaps in another market there is such a copy. Speaking of Cynthia Westebrook; she is absolutely stunning in this film. she has a perfect body and a very pretty smile. It seems Mas Allá Del Deseo was Cynthia's only role in a full-length feature, so it’s a bummer she never appeared in anything else afterwards. Kyle Anderson has starred in other films and many of them were American productions and of smaller roles as well. The chemistry between Kyle and Cynthia is perfect and you want to see them together since they’re believable & good looking for each other. This is what makes the film so good as well, aside from its story & settings. The underwater cinematography was done by none other than Ramon Bravo and if you're familiar with Mr. Bravo's work, then you are expected to see some amazing underwater camera shots with the creatures swimming around alongside the actors. The haunting, erotic sounding music was composed by Ernesto Cortazar. Ernesto's music blends in so well with the film.

We owe Gilberto Martinez Solares a big thank you for bringing his dream into a film that is so amazing and so beautiful. Criminally underrated as well. Mas Allá Del Deseo needs to be unearthed from its obscurity and appreciated. It is a must see.

Watch Mas Allá Del Deseo on Picardia Nacional