To know Pedro Almod?var is to understand the Spanish filmmaker’s unabashed love for the world of cinema. A world renowned director and screenwriter, Almod?var often uses his vibrant, glossy narratives to pay homage to the art of filmmaking and the complex characters who take part in the craft. In his latest film, “Broken Embraces” (“Los abrazos rotos”), Almod?var skillfully turns the troubled pages of a blind screenwriter’s past life, ultimately revealing a spellbinding four-way tale of treacherous love and heartbreak.
But if the cinema is Almod?var’s first muse, then his second would have to be Pen?lope Cruz (“Nine”). Fresh off her Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Cruz plays the ravishing Lena in what is her fourth time working with Almod?var — their last film together, “Volver,” earned Cruz an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
As the film opens, recent events in the life of blind screenwriter Mateo Blanco (Spanish actor Llu?s Homar), who now goes by the pseudonym Harry Caine, bring back memories of his heartrending past, which he begins to narrate through a series of flashbacks. In these flashbacks, we meet Lena, the mistress of jealous millionaire Ernesto Martel (Spanish actor Jos? Luis G?mez) and an aspiring actress who gets the main role in a new film directed by Blanco, who is not blind at this point in time. Before long, Blanco and Lena engage in a dangerous love affair that ultimately ends in betrayal, guilt and tragedy.
While Homar’s spot-on portrayal of a man left in limbo due to the unsolved mysteries of his disconcerting past is certainly noteworthy, it’s Cruz who commands the silver screen. She performs her role with such unbridled conviction that audiences can truly see the pain and despair in her eyes that comes from being forced to stay with the abusive Martel and be worried that her love for Blanco will only lead to harm for the star-crossed lovers.
The film also benefits from exceptional supporting roles from G?mez, who provides his villainous Martel with just the right amount of deceptive charm, and Rub?n Ochandiano, who plays Matel’s shy, yet shrewd homosexual son turned spy.
Yet, despite an all around solid performance by the cast, the film’s greatest pitfall lies in the characters Almod?var has created. While they are well-developed for the most part, this conflicted collection of characters lacks any sort of real protagonist for audiences to relate to. In the end, after all the skeletons in the closet have been revealed, there is no one left to sympathize with, creating a sense of indifference to these people you have just spent two hours with.
If you overlook this misstep, though, you’re left with a unique screenplay that gives this film its captivating spark. The film flows effortlessly from the present day to the past, allowing the suspense to build as audiences become more and more entangled in this complicated web of love. Although most of the film’s revelations are rather predictable by the time they come to light, Almod?var ultimately succeeds at turning what could have been a clich?d love affair plotline into a compelling work of cinematic art.
Almod?var also shows off his directing prowess, shooting the film as a vivacious technicolor film noir, driven by cynicism, sexual motivation and expansive cinematography ranging from the regal elegance of Matel’s mansion to the breathtaking beaches of the Spanish island Lanzarote. As is common in Spanish foreign language film, the movie is charged with sexuality, even more so since this is a film dealing with themes of love and lust. At the same time, Almod?var remains tasteful throughout, using sex and nudity to enhance the emotion of the film. However, this sexuality is at times overblown, resulting in cheesy intimacy of the sort you would find in low budget Spanish telenovelas.
While some viewers may be scared off by a film that’s entirely in subtitles, Spanish is the perfect language for this darkly romantic narrative about love, lust and the danger that comes when the two collide. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has already embraced Almod?var and Cruz’s inspiring work by awarding the film a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and audiences would be wise to do the same.
4 stars out of 5.
