di  Anna BIELAK

broken embraces

by Pedro Almodovar

Spain 2009, 129’

Fuori concorso

28/30

After first night screening in Cannes, Broken Embraces appeared also on 44th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. In table of contents Open Eyes’ section, the newest Pedro Almodóvar’s production, nominated to the Golden Palm, was showed in conjunction with the French Festival winner Michael Haneke and his White Ribbon, controversial Antichrist directed by Lars von Trier or Korean Park Chan-Wook’s movie Bajkwi – Jury Prize winner at Côte-d’Azur.

Pedro Almodóvar gave a feast. Women sliced tomatoes and shake them up with sleeping pills. The mothers put on the picture the whole truth about themselves, disclosed flowers of their secrets. The men were not stand in awe of women on high heels. Penelope Cruz breast were close-fitting by a red dress. Viewers’ bodies were thrilling with excitement in dark hideout, when director of Bad Education in his new movie were spinning a story about blind screenwriter and crafty woman on the verge of the nervous breakdown.

The Spanish director plays hopscotch with his characters like Julio Cortazar in his famous novel. So to say Almodóvar gave the viewers the possibility to interpret the plot in multidimensional ways. Little by little he broaden out the reality by retrospections from the past and flashbacks from the movie "Girl and a Suitcase" – the last film directed by sighted Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar). In that kind of reality, full of twists and turns, we can easily find a place for love, treachery, fraudulent acts or bitter secrets involved in references to Almodóvar’s earlier works and classical Hollywood cinema.

Therefore in Mateo’s movie the leading role is playing by Lena (Penelope Cruz) - dressed up for sophisticated Audrey Hepburn, appealing Marylin Monroe or sweet Goldie Hawn. To emphasize a double game, the actress chose for her real life personality of the obscure object of desire to use her elderly lover Ernesto Martel (Jose Louis Gomez) like a femme fatale from unforgettable cinema noir.

Furthermore, after passionate love affair with Mateo Blanco, she simply lead him at death’s door.

Now, under the influence of Ernesto's son (Ruben Ochandiano) and his forgotten movie, blinded Mateo recalls the past. Ernesto Junior’s making-off from the "Girl and a Suitcase"’s location was considered as an aggravating evidence against Lena’s fraudulent acts. Even though avant-garde video could not compete with cinema verite, it becames good explanation of video technique’s usage inside classical film’s image. Keeping the distance between Lena and Martel, the document enabled the woman to say truth bravely looking Ernesto straight into face – although her look was mediated by camera objective. So when her lover had been watching voiceless movie recorded by his son, Lena came into the room. Allowed him to study the image, she started to speak about her marital infidelity. When her representation on the screen turned out to walked away, Lena fell silent and left the room. Yet, Ernesto found the truth inside the picture. Pedro Almodóvar have done exactly the same. He puts together well-known fragments of reality into new, but not unfamiliar wholeness, like he tries to strive for perfection. In the same way Mateo and Lena’s movie mentioned below after fourteen years will became re-edit by blind screenwriter, who against Woody Allen did not believe in Hollywood ending.

Is it possible that Pedro Almodóvar’s world narrows down to quotations precisely connected with each other? Not in the least. Yet, could we not to look forward to seeing in his movies short dresses or red shirts seen in background? Julio Cortazar admittedly claims that there are moments, when something may reach the highest degree of own dimension, depth, scope, sense and became something completely shallow. So far, the film made by director, who does not make an attempt to risk and repeatedly returns to proven forms, stands against Cortazar’s theory.

Without hesitation, I would like to play hopscotch with Almodóvar once again.

SITO UFFICIALE