Thanks to Pedro Almodovar, Spain has birthed more directors who have explored the fluidity between the sexes in some truly groundbreaking movies. Now comes Ramon Salazar who recruits Rossy de Palma, an Almodovarian veteran, in a small but crucial part, and an actress previously seen in CRIMEN FERPECTO, Monica Cervera. Both have the physicalities suited for the nature of the roles they are playing -- with their androgynous faces, they actually do look like men on the verge of being female (which, actually, is what de Palma's character has already become). Both are women of the night, looking for a quick fix to give them enough cash to get through their petty existences. Only that Marieta (Cervera) suffers from narcolepsy, and when she passes out, she moves into the realms of camera! lights! action! and the world fills with pop tunes in both English and Spanish. In these musicals, she is the star at the center, she is the focus of everyone's attention and the object of total adulation.Not an original move -- it's been done before, most recently in CHICAGO where the musical numbers all occurred within Roxie Hart's mind and she didn't have to pass out for them to take place -- but 20 CENTIMETROS is a daring piece of work. It does to the genre what TRANSAMERICA started, by bringing a subject that has a long way to go still in terms of discussion and acceptance and bringing it to the spotlight (literally) under the form of a woman who is also on the down-and-out and needs that extra money to be able to "break free" as the musical number late in the film -- a Queen song Marieta performs -- points at. What TRANSAMERICA didn't do, and this movie certainly does, is flip the roles between the sexes and give Marieta the dominating power in all of her sexual encounters. It only shows how different the European position on the issue is -- where Americans still tend to emasculate men in this position in order to establish what is traditional and non-traditional, Europeans could care less about "who's on top, who's on bottom" and when Marieta falls for a hunk (Pablo Puyol) who has a penchant for being on the submissive side of her 20 centimeters (for lack of a better term), roles fly out the window real quick.However, it's here where the movie somehow fails... if both Marieta and her Man are happy with each other, her insistence on crossing the ultimate line seems a little selfish. However, having seen several documentaries on the subject of male-to-female transsexuals, their issues go much deeper than that. So it's possible to assume that both Marieta and her Guy are two people who are almost right for each other. Just not quite. At least, in this way, 20 CENTIMETROS doesn't become an exercise in schmaltzy happiness, but still -- somehow I believe it would have been even more groundbreaking to leave things as they were between the two characters (since the movie invests a wallop in establishing how right they are for each other and both actors do manage to create an intense couple) and not make Marieta so pig-headed in her quest for femininity. After all, her Guy does accept her as she is. It's too bad she cannot do the same.

Vibrant music, bright colors, drag queens and transgenders working the street, pathos, laughter--you name it, this film's got it. You'll find much of the same in any Almodovar film, but this isn't Almodovar by a long shot. You have to admire a lot about it, the actors, the direction, the inventive costumes and make up, but ultimately, despite the catalog of intriguing aspects, the film doesn't add up to very much. Marieta's narcolepsy doesn't serve the plot except as a device for dream sequence song and dance numbers. These episodes seemed like music videos dropped in out of nowhere. While they're bright and energetic, a lot of the time I couldn't help thinking how much better they would have been--particularly the choreography--if done by an American studio in the 1940s and '50s. I shock myself when I admit that, but it's what came to mind as I watched this film.There's enough storyline in this movie for three separate films, which is part of the problem and part of the charm. Although I don't regret having seen 20 Centimeters, I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to see it, unless you're part of the trans-gendered community. In which case, it's part of your heritage.

Writer/actor/director Ramón Salazar ('Amnèsia', 'Piedras') is becoming a formidable presence on the Spanish cinema scene. He takes risks, he knows he takes them, and he makes them turn out in his favor. '20 Centimeters' is a mix of a story that is part hilarious musical comedy and part sensitive character portrayal of people who live just outside the edge of what is cruelly called 'normal': the mix makes for a jolly fluffy cake that smacks of Salazar's predecessors Almodóvar and Fellini.Marieta (the enormously talented Mónica Cervera) is a work in progress: she dresses as a woman, has breast implants, is on painful steroid injections, but still retains the 20 centimeter remnant that prevents her from becoming the totally feminine woman she desires. She has a heart of gold, works the streets as a prostitute with special gifts to earn money for her transgender surgery. But at home she shares an apartment with a dwarf Tomás (the very handsome and talented Miguel O'Dogherty) who squanders Marieta's money on ticket scams that don't work, cares for her friend Berta's (Concha Galán) son, and provides emotional support to her fellow sex workers. She has a major problem: she has narcolepsy and falls asleep for several hours at a time in the most inappropriate places (!) and during these sleep periods dreams of Broadway musical numbers occur in which she is the singing (in Spanish, French and English) and dancing star with a cast of hundreds in the wildest of costumes! Marieta yearns for love and when she notices on Raul (the very hunky and talented Pablo Puyol) she feels she is in love, especially when Raul returns her attention, takes her home to meet his rather low class gross parents and family, and most importantly physically falls in love with her - AND her 20 centimeter unwanted obstruction to happiness. How Marieta comes to grips with her focal surgical dream versus her chance for love is the tender way the film concludes.Mónica Cervera carries this very difficult role extremely well, not only allowing us to see the inner suffering being she truly is but also popping the cork off the champagne bottle of musical production numbers that pepper this fun movie. The cast is uniformly fine (Pilar Bardem, the mother of superstar Javier Bardem, has a fine little cameo role) and the direction show that Ramón Salazar has tight reins on his talent. This is a film that is bawdy fun without ever spilling over into the realm of bad taste. Watching it is a toe-tapping good time! Grady Harp

A narcoleptic transsexual (Monica Cervera) wants the 20 centermeters between her legs removed so she can become a true women. Then she meets hot, handsome, hunky Raul (Pablo Puyol) who likes what she has between her legs--a lot. She loves him...but enough to keep what she has? Also the film shows her fantasies and dreams which break out into elaborate (to say the least) musical numbers.The basic idea (depressing story intercut with elaborate musical numbers) has been done before ("Pennies From Heaven", "Dancer in the Dark", "Moulin Rogue")--this is only different in the subject matter. I mostly liked it--the musical numbers are just great--full of energy and some incredible dancing (the "True Love" number stops the show). But the film is slowly paced and depressing. The acting of Cervera and Puyol (who has guts taking this role on) saves it. Also this has some fairly explicit nudity (male) and sex--be forewarned. Worth catching. I give it an 8.