Broken Embraces

I'm really glad to see that Penelope Cruz still makes films in other countries. To often when someone gets big in Hollywood they end up only making Hollywood films.

Mateo (aka Harry) is a blind screenwriter. He used to be able to see and when he could he directed films. He meets with a young filmmaker (says his name is Ray X) who wants to direct a film idea he has and he wants Harry to help. Harry doesn't buy it, and with the help of the son of his friend they find out that he is actually the son of the man who produced the last film Harry directed. He was more than that though, the producer (Ernesto) was also with the lead actress in the film (Lena) Harry and Lena start having an affair and Ernesto finds out, he has a violent side and hurts Lena.

We eventually find out how Harry became blind, what happens to Lena, and why their film ended up failing so badly. Unlike American thrillers this is underplayed, as scary as Ernesto might be there is a deep well to be tapped there with how scary the obsession of a lover can be. We see him get sort of violent, but never really push the boundaries of scaring me. The film felt longer than it should have, the story even though it sounds complicated is fairly straight forward.

Penelope Cruz is adorable as always, is there anyone out there who couldn't like her? As one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood currently she still takes risks with films like this. Not that this film was that risky of a notion, but it did require some nudity on her part, and possibly taking her away from other more lucrative projects.

This film properly showed how films are made, it wasn't as accurate as it could be, but was pretty close. Always exciting to see a C-stand in the frame, or lights just sitting around, its as if the stuff I work with closely is suddenly the star of the film. As in "Holy shit, look how big that green screen is!" I liked the way it was shot, there was a lot of movement in the frame, as well as some very cool shots that move corresponding to the characters, nothing overly complicated, but just looked good.

The lighting stayed pretty dramatic most of the time, sometimes it would be hard, day time in Madrid isn't going to look overly dramatic, the warmth and sunlight sort of drown out with happiness anything too negative. It was a good film, but nothing anyone would need to run out and see. 7/10 stars.

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez, Ruben Ochandiano, Tamar Novas