User Reviews

Petro Almodóvar's film is an outstanding drama that moves across two different time levels. It's about love, jealousy, disappointments and betrayal. In a flashback, the confusing web gradually develops, which we as viewers in the present are presented as strange and barely understandable. Only a threatening situation causes the main character to give up his persistent refusal to let the ghost of the past awaken and to face it. Excellently acted and beautifully staged.

This is a fairly typical Almodovar drama film, featuring Penelope Cruz (but of course). Its a character driven drama and features a good use of music in the background to highlight the tenser moments. The plot features numerous twists. I became a little confused about which precise timeline I was viewing at points, as it switches between different years but then I can't say I'm the best at fully concentrating on intricate film details I suppose. Its a film about nostalgia and regret. This is a pretty intriguing story (somewhat thought provoking) with good performances, so yes its a good film thats worth seeing, I'd say but not my favourite Almodovar.

Penelope carries rage, vulnerability, humility, humour and pain in just those two eyes, maybe that's why they are always looking down. Broken Embraces The writer and director Pedro Almodovar's Shakespearean tragedy is extremely Shakespearean. There is unnerving phase of practicality that you cannot escape. And for that reason it is also a horror for me. There is mythology, there is narration, there are characters whispered about like some holy myth, they yearn for peace and prosperity, yet they are always drowned in their own sin. These things, the old style storytelling is fabricated so smoothly and properly coated in the hip and happening drums that you forget amidst all the rock band, DJ music and fashionable clothing, that they are actually kings and queens. The filmmaking and the celebrity is an excuse for crowning them as royalty. Their servant or call it a slave or a loyal spy, these paws are poking the rulers. What you get now, is of course, old mentality. That is not to say that it isn't timely. It's just that these characters then, not aware or ready or in habitant to listen or match others' perspective, fails to comprehend with them. Hence, coming back to the Shakespeare theory. There is a lot of Shakespeare in the film, for there is a lot of presumptuous thinking. You can see them make mistakes and plan mistakes resulting into us, the viewers, bite our nails, pull our hair and nod our head in denial. That's just good drama. That is a good film. Broken Embraces never fixes itself. It isn't meant to. The film juggles around plenty of relationships yet none of those aren't frowned upon by either us or the characters. What you then steer towards is character building. The broken is not the equation, not the character, not the zest to live and hope for. It is just that barricade between your self-created theories and the truth. That ugly incorrectly-motivated truth.

Pedro Almodovar? Check. Hard-boiled 1950s American film noir? Check. Penelope Cruz? Check. I think it's not bad movie but it's quite not interesting for me.

Broken Embraces seems to be a typical Almadovar film - which is very good, to say the least. He uses his typical ways of directing, which have by now become his trademark. With his usual excellent cast, and of-late muse Penelope Cruz leading the way, the film just shows great character development. That is both due to the screenplay and a rather impressive response of the actors to the screenplay and Almodovar's direction. The original score of the film is also rather captivating. However, one cannot but compare his latest to his previous films, such as Volver, La mala educacion or Hable con ella, and once one does it, one can see that Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos) is not quite as great as the others. There is just something missing. However, it is still a very good film, coming from the best Spanish (if not European) director, starring the best Spanish actors. I'd highly recommend it!!

Pedro Almodóvar is a single-minded artist who always has one eye on the story and the characters, and the other on the delight of the film's images and colours. Never has there been a filmmaker who uses such an inspired and gorgeous and sumptuous palette.