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Experience “broken Embraces” (Los Abrazos Rotos)(pedro Almodovar, 2009)
Pedro Almodovar’s makes a welcome return to the screen with his muse of a star actress: Penelope Cruz as they seek out "Broken Embraces". This is an elegantly-told romance from one of Europe’s most revered directors.
Pedro Almodovar’s career arc is quite extraordinary. When he first arrived on the scene he was vilified by the Spanish establishment for bringing many sacred issues to the fore: Catholicism, homosexuality and women amongst them. Over the years though Spain has warmed to their auteur, an original director whose characters are always wrought with emotions…emotions which affect their decisions, some of which are questionable but all true to human nature. He is beloved throughout the film world and revered for his insights into the human psyche when levels of attachment, love and desire become almost unbearable for his characters. In the delectable Penelope Cruz he has found a leading lady so versatile, so beautiful and talented in her art that she is able to portray vulnerability, ooze sexuality and display pain sometimes simultaneously and in ways that match Pedro’s idea of the female mind and body.
Image by Punxutawneyphilvia Flickr (Poster for ‘Broken Embraces’ on a cinema wall in St. Petersburg, Russia)
In ‘Broken Embraces’ Cruz plays a budding actress, married to riches, who discovers that there is intimacy for her outside of her marriage. Her story is told in flashback while the director of her last film, solemnly played by Lluis Homar, recounts tales of his past to a young man, recalling how he came to be in the position he finds himself. It’s amazing how much colour and decoration Almodovar manages to pack into the film. He has a field day with the fact that this is a film about film-making, giving him the opportunity to experiment with sets, outfits, storylines, moods and tempos. The beauty of the film is how it touches on many genres without fully falling into a specific category i.e. it forms broken embraces with romance, thriller and comedy as it tiptoes across the film landscape. As Pedro fans will know red is prominent in Almodovar’s films for a number of reasons, some not always instantly clear, and part of the fun in watching is working out why.
Image by *hoodrat* via Flickr (Director and star are interview at a premiere for the film)
8/10
