A Movie to Grab You (Broken Embraces (DVD))

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Broken Embraces (DVD)
Date:	21/09/09 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delightfully acted, directed and written

Disadvantages: It is in Spanish, a bit on the long side, gets a tad soap-opera-y near the end

Pedro Almodovar (Volver) brings us another drama/thriller with comedic undertones that borders on the soap opera, with his latest movie Broken Embraces (or in Spanish, Los Abrazos Rotos). Here we have two stories that intertwine. Mateo Blanco was a movie director who was blinded in a tragic accident 14 years before this film begins. Ever since, he has called himself Harry Caine (which, by the way, is a pseudonym that Almodovar used for himself on his other film this year The Cannibalistic Councillor), and now writes movie scripts.

Then there's Lena (Penelope Cruz), the secretary to Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), who became his mistress, but really wanted to become a movie star, and auditions for one of Mateo's films. Martel's jealousy and controlling personality are outweighed by his adoration for Lena. To that end, he becomes the backer for the movie, but on the condition that his son Ernesto Jr. is by her side the whole time, under the guise of his making a documentary about the production, when he's actually spying on Lena for his father. Of course, Mateo and Lena fall in love, and so the intrigue begins.

In truth, there's also a third story here, as throughout all this, we have Mateo/Harry's faithful manager Judit (Blanca Portillo) and her son Diego, who now helps the blind Harry type up (and sometimes spice up) his movie scripts. The full journey of recounting Mateo/Harry's story is done in flashbacks to a bed-ridden Diego.

If all this sounds a bit confusing, I have to admit that the basis of the story is complex, but with two hours of film, there's plenty of time for everything to makes sense. Almodovar slips comfortably between the two times (okay, so we see the years printed on the screen), without ever over stylizing. The script is both intelligent and fun, with the action pulling us in and taking on enough twists that those two hours just slip by before you know it. Of course, it helps that the film inside the film they were making is a farce, to keep things from getting too heavy. And there are times near the end of the film that you think they're just about to jump the shark, but they pull back just in time to keep it (mostly) real.

Where you're really pulled in here is with the intrigue that goes on. Things like the creepy and pimply Ernesto Jr. with his hand-held camera showing up everywhere, or the lip reader who reads out the dialogue off of junior's candid footage of Lena and Mateo for Ernesto. Its also interesting how, as the full extent of what happened 14 years prior becomes more clear, the action switches more often between the two time periods - as if the past is finally about to catch up with the present. There's also some nice camera work here - one in particular where a turning reel of film in the present fades into an overhead shot of Mateo running down a spiraling staircase in the past. In all, a nicely crafted, written and directed piece of work here, and a thoroughly engaging film overall.

If you're looking for a movie that's just a little different, and aren't adverse to reading subtitles, certainly you could do much worse than watching Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces. It is well acted with a mostly intelligent script that combines comedy, romance and intrigue, which makes it almost a cinematic soap opera - with only one inane twist near the end. While this isn't the thing of Oscars or any other, big film awards (although Almodovar did get nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes for this movie), it is two hours of enjoyable watching, and that's well paced and artistic enough to hold your interest throughout. I'd recommend this film and say it's worth easily four out of five stars.

Davida Chazan © September, 2009

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This should already playing in the UK, but for those of you in the USA, you'll have to wait for the New York Film Festival on October 11, or one of the (planned, according to IMDb) wider releases of 20 November 2009 for New York City, and 11 December 2009 for Los Angeles. One can only hope that this does well enough in the festivals and limited releases to get even wider showings across globe.

The IMDb page for this is http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913425/

This is not yet available on DVD to purchase, but you can rent it via Amazon.co.uk through LoveFilm.com.

What's most amazing about this film is how very similar they make Cruz look to Audrey Hepburn for her part in the movie (talk about your "separated at birth but by a generation" - just look at this picture from the movie http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1138001920/tt0913425 and then look at this one of Hepburn http://www.imdb.com/media/rm528259072/nm0000030. What did I tell you? Practically twins)!
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Summary: A Sneek Preview of Pedro Almodovar's Newest Movie