Nostalgia Kinky

A brutally bonkers, completely feral, savagely satirical look at out of control misogyny and the dangers of repression, 1974’s Grandeur nature (LIFE SIZE) is an unforgettable, hysterical and uber-disturbing work from famed Spanish director Luis García Berlanga. Starring a never better or braver Michel Piccoli as a successful dentist named Michel who romances and then gradually destroys a life size sex doll he has ordered, the artistic flamethrowing LIFE SIZE is as far removed from the sentimentality of LARS AND THE REAL GIRL as possible.

LIFE SIZE is actually the first film from Luis García Berlanga I’ve seen and I was deeply impressed by the film and his work. A veteran with decades of filmmaking already behind him in 1974, Berlanga was approaching his mid-fifties when he adapted the screenplay of LIFE SIZE from a controversial book, along notably with legendary Bunuel collaborator Jean-Claude Carrière and another great figure, Rafael Azcona. These three legends came up with a wild and witty script absolutely brilliant in its savagery and with Michel, the three screenwriters and Piccoli developed a truly perverse and unsettling character, occasionally charming and always horrifying.

LIFE SIZE wouldn’t work with Michel Piccoli. His brilliant, toxic, funny and downright wicked performance power the film and the audacity of his work is jaw-dropping. Unafraid to be at times incredibly ugly and downright vile, here is one of the great screen actors delivering a performance so brazen and nakedly courageous. Piccoli’s deranged Michel is a breathtaking creation…as a former actor, I was so incredibly blown away.

LIFE SIZE easily might have gone in any number of directions throughout its running time and yet somehow Berlanga offers something surprising and unexpected in nearly every scene. I had no idea where LIFE SIZE was going and I was found the film’s fierce refusal to offer any sort of moralizing or anything resembling politeness incredibly refreshing. Throughout Berlanga, a leftist survivor of General Franco’s dictatorship, offers a cinematic fuck-off to anyone asking him to comment on the morality (or lack thereof) he’s presenting. Berlanga simply allows his unsuspecting audience to choose whether or not they relate to this extremely cruel and heartless man, and that choice says everything about them…not his film.

Along with Piccoli’s performance, perhaps the most impressive aspect of LIFE SIZE is the frighteningly realistic doll sculptors Charles-Henri Assola, Giulio Tamassy and Alexandre Trauner came up with. Holy Hell, this thing looks so lifelike and this quality adds a real devastation to the many assault scenes. Apparently the doll’s body was secretly molded after Brigitte Bardot after the head of Paramount demanded it after expressing early interest (which eventually fell through). Throughout LIFE SIZE, I kept having to remind myself this was a lifeless prop. It is truly hauntingly nightmarish.

For Piccoli, the doll was so lifelife that she actually became the star of the film. Interviewed by IL PICCOLO at the time of filming, he stated “It was risky, but it was exciting and I got a taste for the game, I learned to make it move and even improvise with it. Many scenes unfolded spontaneously, depending on the doll’s unpredictable reactions. For me, she was the ‘star’ in every sense of the word.”

LIFE SIZE has a great behind the scenes pedigree, including composer Maurice Jarre (who has one of the funniest laugh out loud cues I have ever heard) and the great future Oscar winning editor Francoise Bonnet, whose always clever cutting skills add to the film’s caustically uncomfortable humor. You literally never know what each edit is going to bring. It’s awesome. The supporting cast is solid as well, although this is a film controlled completely by Piccoli and his ‘In Every Dream home a Heartbreak’ partner. Memorable supporting turns can be found especially by Valentine Tessier, playing Michel’s equally damaged and daffy mother, and especially Rada Rassimov who bravely subjects herself to one of the most hauntingly demeaning moments I’ve ever seen in a film.

LIFE SIZE was buried before it had any sort of real opportunity to shock the people who deserved shocking. Made in France while Berlanga was still under Franco’s strongarm, Spanish censors told him to take a flying leap and the film went unreleased there for nearly five years. After some initial critical support in France, from what I can gather ultimately it only found its way to a small number of theaters and flopped, a Piccoli later lamented.

Attempting to research LIFE SIZE was a bit of a challenge but I dug up a few reviews and articles I’m sharing here. Critical reaction was mixed and it turns out that a film featuring a life size doll being repeatedly brutalized for 100 minutes was a hard sell to the public. LIFE SIZE has all but vanished from view save for an ancient older import DVD release. Thankfully it is available online with custom subs for any adventurous brave enough to partake.

LIFE SIZE is a very funny film but it is extremely difficult to watch, especially as it progresses and the abuse increases. Highly, highly recommended but please proceed with caution. Like all of the greatest art, LIFE SIZE is a dangerous work.

-Jeremy Richey, July 2025-

Enjoy this selection of vintage material I found while researching this piece.
Attributes are in each image name.