Broken Embraces
Wow. Broken Embraces, the latest film from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, left me rapt for 2 hours.& In this span, he tells a story of love, sex, obsession, violence and revenge, all taking place in the world of film-making. If there is one constant in Almodovar’s many films, it is the presence of interesting, passionate, strong female characters. Penelope Cruz, fast becoming one of the director’s muses after starring in his previous film, “Volver”, shines as the enigmatic Lena, a woman torn between two lovers while beginning a promising movie career.
I knew very little about the plot before going to see the movie, and don’t think that knowing too much about it is necessary to enjoy the film (the trailer can be seen here) . Suffice it to say that the story moves from 2008 to 1994, as a blind screenwriter is forced to relive a tumultuous period in his life when a stranger appears on his doorstep one day with unusual demands. The screenwriter is played by the wonderful Catalan actor Lluis Homar, last seen in “Bad Education”, and many familiar faces from Almodovar films past show up- Rossy de Palma from “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”, and Angela Molina of “Live Flesh” among them. Nevertheless, you don’t need to be familiar with Spanish movies or the work of Almodovar to enjoy “Broken Embraces”. All you need to enjoy this movie is an appreciation for interesting characters, well-told stories, and beautiful scenery (including the cast).
The scenery: Almodovar films are beautiful to watch, featuring rich colors in nearly every shot (often red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag), unique camera angles, striking architecture and physical landscapes- parts of the movie were filmed on the island of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, and the terrain is lunar and volcanic. If you’d like to enter the melodramatic and Technicolor Spain of Pedro Almodovar, if you like movies that feature strong acting and tight, well-constructed plots, do yourself a favor and see “Broken Embraces” while it is still in theaters.
