‘Chain of Desire’

Temistocles Lopez’s erotic 1992 updating of “La Ronde” to contemporary Manhattan is witty, wise and elegant. The film’s ironic device, with one lover moving on to the next, who in turn moves on to another until the last lover connects with the first, allows Lopez to show how sexual longing and emotional craving in all their permutations reveal the loneliness and isolation existing in modern life. Linda Fiorentino, Malcolm McDowell (pictured), Seymour Cassel and Assumpta Serna are featured in a large and fine ensemble cast. Lopez reflects upon a full range of sexual orientation and doesn’t ignore the age of AIDS. (HBO Monday at 1:10 a.m.).