Phenomenal Film, Looks Beautiful in Hi-Def
Added 3/19/2010
Pedro Almodovar has a knack for creating visceral films all the more powerful for appealing to the viewer's simpler capabilities. Talk to Her offered a story about the incredible power of speech and how it can connect people while driving others apart. In a similar method, Broken Embraces defines a man by his sight, taking note of the dichotomy between who he was and who he became before and after he lost the ability to see. Told in a mixture of past and present timelines, former filmmaker Mateo recounts the once-in-a-lifetime affair that ended his career as a legendary director, wherein he adopted the name Harry Caine. It's a twisted love story told through stunning cinematography and excellent performances by an incredible cast; about what you'd expect from an Almodovar film.
Lena (Penelope Cruz) is in love with her director Mateo (Lluis Homar), married to its producer Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), and creeped out by the would-be cinematographer son-in-law Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) who seeks to film every step of the film's production. The story of jealousy, deceit, and heartbreak that follows doesn't come to light easily though; only after Mateo's enthusiastic assistant goes into a drug-induced, albeit short coma. Finally, the ex-director lets loose with the tale that reveals the cause of his blindness and the forlorn look that replaced his sense of sight.
Few films are so revealing of their director's love of cinema. The rare exceptions, like Broken Embraces, Cinema Paradiso, or even Quentin Tarantino's recent Inglourious Basterds, showcase the medium as a character unto itself, often as a catalyst that drives events that may otherwise never have occurred. Whether it's a forbidden romance, a passion for the arts, or the death of the Nazi party, the director's passion shines through. Broken Embraces tells of Almodovar's love of both the art and the people who make it possible. He not only does it visually, but with his actors, the performances from whom make Broken Embraces one of his best.
Particularly worthy of recognition is Penelope Cruz, and once you make your way through the extra feature highlighting how Pedro coaxed her performance, you'll understand exactly why. Cruz has delivered above par bouts in the past, but rarely has a film of hers relied so heavily on a nuanced delivery like this. A large contributor to her success here is not having to wrestle with the English language. Broken Embraces sees Cruz give one of her best shows ever, while still letting her be a sultry sexpot. She's battered and bruised one second, while utterly disdainful and smoldering the next. Horror films use a similar method to sublimated violence and sexuality, but here the equation is anything but shameful. The transition from injury to seduction comes brilliantly, and Cruz is a goddess careening from good fortune to bad. She makes this film.
However, Lluis Homar's turn as Mateo/Harry Caine carries equal import. Playing a blind character requires a lot of mental training from actors, they have to learn to not move in ways typical of people with sight. It's a hard feat and few actors ever pull it off well. What we get from Homar is nothing short of superb. Relating his story of lost love makes the story of Broken Embraces wrenching and compelling. The pace is slow and even, but it never drags once - thanks not only to Pedro's direction, but the performances of Cruz and Homar.
Almodovar's eye for the aesthetic results in interestingly composed frames and a colorful palette. Some shots seem to defy what you'd expect from a given scene, but Almodovar creates a combination that forms not just a watchable film, but one that begs to be watched. The images jump off the screen, aided in large part by the high-definition of Blu-ray. It's not common that a drama deserves the Blu-ray treatment, but this one warrants it.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Pedro Almodovar's "Cannibalistic Councillor", a natural extension of a scene from the film-within-a-film of Broken Embraces, and a Q&A session with Cruz make up the two lesser extras on the disc - but note that they're both exceptional, simply overshadowed by the last. The featurette where you watch Pedro and Cruz interact really reveals a lot about the film, explaining the relationship between actor and director. Finally, deleted scenes and some clips from the film's red carpet night are the final entries.
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Broken Embraces
Added 3/18/2010
Pedro Almodóvar is flying high -- he is on a class of his own. Very few moviemakers have been able to consistently release film after film as well-crafted as this prodigious Spanish director. After his work finally became very visible in the United States since the heavily acclaimed "Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988), his movies just keep getting better and better. Happily, he can now add the brilliant and absorbing "Broken Embraces" (Los Abrazos Rotos) to his remarkable career.
Like almost any other Almodóvar film, "Broken Embraces" takes time to build, slowly boiling down to a heavy climax. In this case, the story fluctuates between the nineties and 2008, when the movie begins. We meet Harry Caine (Lluís Homar, whose face reminds me of Laurence Olivier), a successful script writer who happens to be blind. We also meet Judit (Blanca Portillo), his agent, as well as Diego (Tamar Novas), his personal assistant. One day, Harry learns about the death of Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez), a powerful businessman, with whom he previously had a connection -- they both loved the same woman (Penélope Cruz). With Martel's death, Harry has to reconcile with the past, before he became blind, and was known as Mateo Blanco, a successful film director. In doing so, he is in for more surprises, concluding that "films have to be finished, even if you do it blindly."
Almodóvar has said that "Broken Embraces" is about love between four people. That may be the case, because love is the main determinant in everybody's lives in this story. However, there is also a great amount of intrigue and some moments of humor - Spanish style - that elevate the film above from the romance realm. Only Almodóvar has that touch, and his movies are always welcome. The Blu-ray also includes deleted scenes; segments of Almodóvar directing Penélope Cruz; "The Cannibalistic Councillor," a short film by Almodóvar; Q&A with Penélope Cruz; and more. (Spain, 2009, color, 127 min plus additional materials)
Reviewed by Eric Gonzalez exclusively for [..] on March 17, 2010.
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Not Bad, but Stale and Underwritten in Parts.
Added 3/18/2010
In "Broken Embraces", Pedro Almodovar rehashes a lot of themes and devices from his earlier films to create a pastiche that is pleasant enough but not as strong as his more daring and original works. Harry Caine (Lluis Homar) is a blind screenwriter who had been film director Mateo Blanco before he lost his sight. Now he dictates screenplays to his assistant Diego (Tamar Novas), the son of his longtime manager Judit (Blanco Portillo), who wishes Harry would write scripts for more popular genres. One day as aspiring filmmaker (Ruben Ochandiano) proposes that Harry collaborate on a script about a son who avenges himself on his detested father posthumously. That inspires Harry to tell Diego the story of how he fell in love and lost his sight 14 years earlier, a subject of which he has not spoken in all those years.
In 1994, Harry met Lena (Penelope Cruz), the beautiful mistress of financier Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), when he directed her in her first film, a comedy called "Girls and Suitcases". They fell in love and incurred Ernesto's wrath. The film shifts back and forth, between 1994 and 2008, as Diego takes in the story, and Judit grows wary of what Harry might tell him. Harry and Lena's affair is deliberately clichéd, but I waited for Almodovar to give it his unique spin. Unfortunately, it never quite delivers. Lena seems more an object than a fully realized character, which might be fitting, as she is in Harry's memory. But as a main character, she is underwritten. Jose Luis Gomez is perfect as a man in the grip of obsession for Lena, so much so that I wish Ernesto had a more prominent role.
Sometimes Pedro Almodovar has a stroke of brilliance. And sometimes he seems to make movies because he likes making movies, even if he doesn't have anything fresh to contribute. I've seen too much of "Broken Embraces" in his other films, and it just never engages the audience. Harry and Lena's love has no spark. I could see the "surprises" coming a mile away. Some actions seem to lack motivation. Penelope Cruz is luminous. There's never any doubt as to why she's a movie star in Almodovar's films. Jose Luis Gomez is very good, and so Blanco Portillo would be if the writing for her character were a little better. I think those familiar with Almodovar's work are going to find this one stale. But I can't really recommend it to those new to Almodovar, as you would be better off seeing the great "All About My Mother" (1999) or, if you want noir, the labyrinthine noir homage/spoof "Bad Education" (2004). In Spanish with optional subtitles.
The DVD (Sony 2010): Bonus features include 3 deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer (2 min), and 4 featurettes. "The Cannibalistic Councillor" (7 min) is a scene from the fictional "Girls and Suitcases" movie, in which Chon, a woman of conservative politics and Councillor of Social Affairs, goes on about her sexual obsession and foot fetish. This is pure, hilarious Almodovar and not to be missed. There is another scene from the fictional movie among the deleted scenes. "Pedro Directs Penelope" (6 min, English subtitles) shows us what Almodovar is saying offscreen while two actresses play a scene. "On the Red Carpet: The New York Film Festival Closing Night" (3 min) has a few brief interviews. "Variety Q&A with Penelope Cruz" (6 min) is an interview of Cruz by Todd McCarthy. Subtitles are available for the film in English and French. Dubbing available in French.
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Foolish Love
Added 3/17/2010
"Broken Embraces" ("Los Abrazos rotos")
Foolish Love
Amos Lassen
"Broken Embraces", Pedro Almodovar's newest film shows us Penelope Cruz at her very best. As Lena she gives a beautifully subtle performance. The beauty of Almodovar's work is there are many levels and every time you see one of his films you find something new. This is a film that is both complicated and simple at the same time. The plot is about a blind screenwriter, Mateo (Lluis Homar), who writes under the nom de plume of Harry Caine. This is a name that he chose after becoming blind and he uses it well.
The film looks at many issues and themes but the overriding one is fathers and sons and this is not at all what I expected and it was quite a surprise when I realized it. I am not really sure how to classify this film according to genre as it has so many different aspects--it's romantic and mysterious, funny and a movie within a movie. The film bridges a love triangle and disaster for two families. It is a melodrama and a psychological look at the way some live and when a traffic accident happens that affects the lives of six people, things really start to happen.
We are introduced to the blind screenwriter in Madrid in 2008 and he is shocked to hear of the death Ernesto Martel, although we are not aware as to why. The movie then goes back in time to 1992 when Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) is a business man with a very beautiful secretary, Lena (Penelope Cruz). Her father is dying from cancer and Martel helps the family pay the bills for his treatment but this costs Lena a lot as she must adhere to his sexual demands and she becomes his girlfriend. We then go forward again to 2008 when Mateo (Caine) meets Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) who wants his help in writing a screenplay about a gay son who is able to get back at his father who is homophobic and this leads us down a path of thinking which turns out to be wrong.
The rest is for you to decipher yourself and you should have a wonderful experience doing so. Although a bit longer than films today, I found the movie to be interpreting and as usual Penelope Cruz is wonderful.
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Love is blind
Added 3/10/2010
Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos) DVD Review
1 Disc Widescreen Edition (2009)
"Broken Embraces" was a 2010 Golden Globe Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. This story is about Mateo Blanco (Lluís Homar) who used to be a film director and went under the alias Harry Caine as a screenwriter. Fourteen years ago, a car accident took his sight and the love of his life, Lena away from him. To distract his production manager's son after an accident, he tells the story of Lena (Penelope Cruz), how they met, and how they ended.
In the beginning, this movie jumps around a lot into the past and back to the present to show you where Mateo is now being a screenwriter only under the name Harry Caine and still managing to seduce women by luring them back to his place to read the paper for him. His manager, Judit (Blanca Portillo) and her son, Diego (Tamar Novas) take good care of him and keep unscrupulous people (like Lena's former lover's son) away from him. When Diego takes ill, Mateo admits his former name and tells the story of how Lena came to audition for him as an actress and their relationship from that point on. Lluís Homar plays a younger, happier version of his character as a director and in love and then also has to play the older version of his character as a blind man and how the accident changed his personality to be more cynical and cut off emotionally from others around him. Particularly in his blind scenes, I felt Homar really hit his mark and performs exceptionally well with the difficulties of portraying a handicap physically and emotionally.
Lena's story begins with the difficult situation of being poor with a sick father and being willing to do anything to help him. This leads her to be under the thumb of an abusive older jealous man, Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez). Penelope Cruz really ends up playing three characters, the woman Lena is, the woman she has to pretend to be, and the role she plays as an actress in a movie being made within this film. In keeping all these identities straight, she does an admirable job. She's a beautiful woman and her character becomes the obsession of more than one man, one whom she loves and the other whom takes advantage of her physically whenever possible and has his son stalk her with a video camera. Cruz steals the movie with her appearance and demeanor, particularly in vulnerable situations.
The style of "Girls and Suitcases", the film Mateo is making is vibrant with colors that pop and light humor. Since you are watching a film being made, there are several takes that don't work because of Lena's emotional state. Besides watching this movie in a different language where it's a little more difficult to discern audible inflections, you have to figure out if the "Girls and Suitcases" scenes are hitting their comic notes or not. I found it difficult to judge the comedic success of Mateo's film on this level. It is much easier when Lena is being herself or the identity she shows as a mistress to connect with her emotional state. Lena is acting the majority of the time and has to be afraid of the consequences of showing her true feelings. The heart of the matter is her struggle to achieve the destiny she wants with the man she truly loves even though the audience knows she is doomed from the start.
A tragic love affair contrasted with a light comedy in storytelling mode to another character isn't easy to pull off and I felt the director really handled the load well changing up the moods with color, music, and guiding his actors through the levels. I recommend this for one viewing if you like to expand your horizons, but it probably won't be for everyone. It isn't the best foreign film I saw from 2009, but it definitely has its merits.
DVD Extras:
The deleted scenes mostly make sense for not being cut. One reminds me of "When In Rome" that I saw recently because it has the group of three going to a restaurant where they eat in the dark and it results in another character's emotional breakdown. Another scene though is from the movie the Mateo made that connects the last scene you see from his movie in this film to the short film also on this DVD, "A Cannibalistic Councillor." I'd recommend watching the deleted scenes first so you can go right into the short film. It's a bit of a showpiece for the comic actress opposite Penelope as she goes on a rampage eating in the kitchen and snorting cocaine and it's a very funny monologue...but it makes a lot more sense if you get to see what happens first in that cut scene.
There's a sequence were Pedro directs Penelope and I have to say, it is impressive for his ability to translate exactly what he wants as a director, but he doesn't give Penelope a lot of room for error or exploration because he directly gives her the subtext and line delivery on her takes. It seems very distracting! I guess he wants to surprise her into very honest takes that are exactly what he wants but it doesn't given her any extra creativity oddly enough.
There is a feature of Red Carpet footage from the New York Film Festival Closing Night and has some interview questions with Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodóvar. And lastly, a Variety questions and answers session with Penelope Cruz about working on this film that is insightful into the rehearsal process and her character development.
This DVD is being released March 16, 2010.
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Phenomenal Film, Looks Beautiful in Hi-Def
Added 3/19/2010
Pedro Almodovar has a knack for creating visceral films all the more powerful for appealing to the viewer's simpler capabilities. Talk to Her offered a story about the incredible power of speech and how it can connect people while driving others apart. In a similar method, Broken Embraces defines a man by his sight, taking note of the dichotomy between who he was and who he became before and after he lost the ability to see. Told in a mixture of past and present timelines, former filmmaker Mateo recounts the once-in-a-lifetime affair that ended his career as a legendary director, wherein he adopted the name Harry Caine. It's a twisted love story told through stunning cinematography and excellent performances by an incredible cast; about what you'd expect from an Almodovar film.
Lena (Penelope Cruz) is in love with her director Mateo (Lluis Homar), married to its producer Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), and creeped out by the would-be cinematographer son-in-law Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) who seeks to film every step of the film's production. The story of jealousy, deceit, and heartbreak that follows doesn't come to light easily though; only after Mateo's enthusiastic assistant goes into a drug-induced, albeit short coma. Finally, the ex-director lets loose with the tale that reveals the cause of his blindness and the forlorn look that replaced his sense of sight.
Few films are so revealing of their director's love of cinema. The rare exceptions, like Broken Embraces, Cinema Paradiso, or even Quentin Tarantino's recent Inglourious Basterds, showcase the medium as a character unto itself, often as a catalyst that drives events that may otherwise never have occurred. Whether it's a forbidden romance, a passion for the arts, or the death of the Nazi party, the director's passion shines through. Broken Embraces tells of Almodovar's love of both the art and the people who make it possible. He not only does it visually, but with his actors, the performances from whom make Broken Embraces one of his best.
Particularly worthy of recognition is Penelope Cruz, and once you make your way through the extra feature highlighting how Pedro coaxed her performance, you'll understand exactly why. Cruz has delivered above par bouts in the past, but rarely has a film of hers relied so heavily on a nuanced delivery like this. A large contributor to her success here is not having to wrestle with the English language. Broken Embraces sees Cruz give one of her best shows ever, while still letting her be a sultry sexpot. She's battered and bruised one second, while utterly disdainful and smoldering the next. Horror films use a similar method to sublimated violence and sexuality, but here the equation is anything but shameful. The transition from injury to seduction comes brilliantly, and Cruz is a goddess careening from good fortune to bad. She makes this film.
However, Lluis Homar's turn as Mateo/Harry Caine carries equal import. Playing a blind character requires a lot of mental training from actors, they have to learn to not move in ways typical of people with sight. It's a hard feat and few actors ever pull it off well. What we get from Homar is nothing short of superb. Relating his story of lost love makes the story of Broken Embraces wrenching and compelling. The pace is slow and even, but it never drags once - thanks not only to Pedro's direction, but the performances of Cruz and Homar.
Almodovar's eye for the aesthetic results in interestingly composed frames and a colorful palette. Some shots seem to defy what you'd expect from a given scene, but Almodovar creates a combination that forms not just a watchable film, but one that begs to be watched. The images jump off the screen, aided in large part by the high-definition of Blu-ray. It's not common that a drama deserves the Blu-ray treatment, but this one warrants it.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Pedro Almodovar's "Cannibalistic Councillor", a natural extension of a scene from the film-within-a-film of Broken Embraces, and a Q&A session with Cruz make up the two lesser extras on the disc - but note that they're both exceptional, simply overshadowed by the last. The featurette where you watch Pedro and Cruz interact really reveals a lot about the film, explaining the relationship between actor and director. Finally, deleted scenes and some clips from the film's red carpet night are the final entries.
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Broken Embraces
Added 3/18/2010
Pedro Almodóvar is flying high -- he is on a class of his own. Very few moviemakers have been able to consistently release film after film as well-crafted as this prodigious Spanish director. After his work finally became very visible in the United States since the heavily acclaimed "Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988), his movies just keep getting better and better. Happily, he can now add the brilliant and absorbing "Broken Embraces" (Los Abrazos Rotos) to his remarkable career.
Like almost any other Almodóvar film, "Broken Embraces" takes time to build, slowly boiling down to a heavy climax. In this case, the story fluctuates between the nineties and 2008, when the movie begins. We meet Harry Caine (Lluís Homar, whose face reminds me of Laurence Olivier), a successful script writer who happens to be blind. We also meet Judit (Blanca Portillo), his agent, as well as Diego (Tamar Novas), his personal assistant. One day, Harry learns about the death of Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez), a powerful businessman, with whom he previously had a connection -- they both loved the same woman (Penélope Cruz). With Martel's death, Harry has to reconcile with the past, before he became blind, and was known as Mateo Blanco, a successful film director. In doing so, he is in for more surprises, concluding that "films have to be finished, even if you do it blindly."
Almodóvar has said that "Broken Embraces" is about love between four people. That may be the case, because love is the main determinant in everybody's lives in this story. However, there is also a great amount of intrigue and some moments of humor - Spanish style - that elevate the film above from the romance realm. Only Almodóvar has that touch, and his movies are always welcome. The Blu-ray also includes deleted scenes; segments of Almodóvar directing Penélope Cruz; "The Cannibalistic Councillor," a short film by Almodóvar; Q&A with Penélope Cruz; and more. (Spain, 2009, color, 127 min plus additional materials)
Reviewed by Eric Gonzalez exclusively for [..] on March 17, 2010.
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Not Bad, but Stale and Underwritten in Parts.
Added 3/18/2010
In "Broken Embraces", Pedro Almodovar rehashes a lot of themes and devices from his earlier films to create a pastiche that is pleasant enough but not as strong as his more daring and original works. Harry Caine (Lluis Homar) is a blind screenwriter who had been film director Mateo Blanco before he lost his sight. Now he dictates screenplays to his assistant Diego (Tamar Novas), the son of his longtime manager Judit (Blanco Portillo), who wishes Harry would write scripts for more popular genres. One day as aspiring filmmaker (Ruben Ochandiano) proposes that Harry collaborate on a script about a son who avenges himself on his detested father posthumously. That inspires Harry to tell Diego the story of how he fell in love and lost his sight 14 years earlier, a subject of which he has not spoken in all those years.
In 1994, Harry met Lena (Penelope Cruz), the beautiful mistress of financier Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), when he directed her in her first film, a comedy called "Girls and Suitcases". They fell in love and incurred Ernesto's wrath. The film shifts back and forth, between 1994 and 2008, as Diego takes in the story, and Judit grows wary of what Harry might tell him. Harry and Lena's affair is deliberately clichéd, but I waited for Almodovar to give it his unique spin. Unfortunately, it never quite delivers. Lena seems more an object than a fully realized character, which might be fitting, as she is in Harry's memory. But as a main character, she is underwritten. Jose Luis Gomez is perfect as a man in the grip of obsession for Lena, so much so that I wish Ernesto had a more prominent role.
Sometimes Pedro Almodovar has a stroke of brilliance. And sometimes he seems to make movies because he likes making movies, even if he doesn't have anything fresh to contribute. I've seen too much of "Broken Embraces" in his other films, and it just never engages the audience. Harry and Lena's love has no spark. I could see the "surprises" coming a mile away. Some actions seem to lack motivation. Penelope Cruz is luminous. There's never any doubt as to why she's a movie star in Almodovar's films. Jose Luis Gomez is very good, and so Blanco Portillo would be if the writing for her character were a little better. I think those familiar with Almodovar's work are going to find this one stale. But I can't really recommend it to those new to Almodovar, as you would be better off seeing the great "All About My Mother" (1999) or, if you want noir, the labyrinthine noir homage/spoof "Bad Education" (2004). In Spanish with optional subtitles.
The DVD (Sony 2010): Bonus features include 3 deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer (2 min), and 4 featurettes. "The Cannibalistic Councillor" (7 min) is a scene from the fictional "Girls and Suitcases" movie, in which Chon, a woman of conservative politics and Councillor of Social Affairs, goes on about her sexual obsession and foot fetish. This is pure, hilarious Almodovar and not to be missed. There is another scene from the fictional movie among the deleted scenes. "Pedro Directs Penelope" (6 min, English subtitles) shows us what Almodovar is saying offscreen while two actresses play a scene. "On the Red Carpet: The New York Film Festival Closing Night" (3 min) has a few brief interviews. "Variety Q&A with Penelope Cruz" (6 min) is an interview of Cruz by Todd McCarthy. Subtitles are available for the film in English and French. Dubbing available in French.
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