Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar & Jose Luis Gomez
Yet another enjoyable drama from Almodovar though, whilst enjoyable, it is not quite as satisfying as previous efforts since much of the film feels somewhat derivative of earlier films from Almodovar’s career.
Always concerned with themes of love, death and family, Pedro Almodovar’s latest film embraces them all along with themes of the redeeming power of cinema in Broken Embraces. Reunited with his frequent leading lady, Penelope Cruz, Almodovar’s latest effort is fairly satisfying and certainly entertaining and more so than many other filmmakers are able to accomplish however, the film also feels a little too much like an assemblage of characters, scenes and themes from his own earlier, and superior films such as Bad Education, All About My Mother and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and feels less satisfactory in comparison to those films for those that have seen them.
In 2008 Harry Caine (Homar), a former film writer and director now just a screenwriter, is coping with blindness and making a living writing less personal, and satisfactory, scripts. When he is approached by a young director calling himself Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) who wishes to make a film about a homosexual boy getting revenge upon his father that he wishes Harry to write, Harry realises Ray is the son of recently deceased businessman Ernesto Martel (Gomez) whom Harry had encountered 15 years before. In 1993, Lena is an aspiring actress placed into a relationship with Martel who pays for her dying father’s medical expenses. When Lena (Cruz) gets the opportunity to star in a film by Mateo Blanco, Martel becomes obsessed over her fidelity when she sparks up a relationship with Blanco, Blanco who will one day be known as Harry Caine.
With a shifting narrative taking place between two time periods similar to Almodovar’s Bad Education in 2004, allowing for the story to unfold partly as a mystery as the events of the past are revealed to explain the circumstances of the present yet still with consequences for the future, Broken Embraces has a satisfying story with which to engage its audience which it accomplishes successfully. Along with well developed characters where even supporting roles are given moments to live and grow outside of the confines of what is required to forward the plot making them all three dimensional characters and, of course, featuring Almodovar’s flair for rich, colourful visuals where even wallpaper appears sensual, all the ingredients are present for a typical Almodovar film. It is however, there, that lays the problem. So much of Broken Embraces evokes memories of Almodovar’s earlier films especially the film-within-a-film ‘Girls With Suitcases’ that Mateo Blanco is directing in the 1990s sequences which is inspired by Almodovar’s own 1988 film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. While part of this is an intentional wink to audiences familiar with his work, other aspects such as themes of death and illness (similar to that of All About My Mother) and the appearances of familiar Almodovar collaborators amongst the cast, particularly Cruz, often gives the feeling that much has been done before and better. Broken Embraces is still very satisfying even for more experienced audiences helped by the performances of its actors and the interest of its central storyline, that of Mateo/Harry and Lena’s ill-fated romance.
Broken Embraces benefits from some excellent performances from its cast. Whilst Penelope Cruz gets top billing and prominence in publicity materials for the film, it is Lluis Homar who is the film’s star and he carries the film very well. Playing two different versions of the same character, the younger and more passionate Mateo of the 1990s and the damaged, but not dispirited, Harry of 2008, Homar believably distinguishes between the two roles whilst also making them believably the same person. Sensitive and passionate and narrating his past with mixed emotions of love and pain, Homar is the heart of the story and the film. Cruz however is still impressive and whilst not playing a character as charming as her role in Volver and rather playing a character that is rarely seen outside of her relationships with Mateo and Martel, she still draws the right amount, and kind, of attention. Martel is played with subdued rage and obsession by Jose Luis Gomez whose performance appears restrained but hints at deeper emotion and Homar gets strong support from Blanca Portillo as his loyal and suffering assistant Judith and by Tamar Novas as her son Diego.
Overall, Broken Embraces is strong, enjoyable drama, romance and mystery which will satisfy audiences and Almodovar fans with its rich visuals and characters but, with film feeling inspired by many of his previous efforts, Broken Embraces is an Almodovar film that might satisfy the appetite of his fans but doesn’t offer enough to truly impress.
Rating: 3/5
