I was able to attend a screening of Broken Embraces at Lincoln film center during my Thanksgiving trip to New York. I paid an incredible $12.50 and left two hours later nearly the same way I felt before entering. I was ready to see the new Almodóvar. The film I watched that day was a conglomeration of good ideas utterly incapable of expressing itself fully. Is it heist, dramedy, self-indulgent personal memoir, or character study? I honestly don't know. It's as if Almodóvar was making a film for himself and I felt left out.
It's mostly a film within a film (sometimes within a film that is within a film). Harry Caine or the blind film director formerly known as Mateo Blanco is the protagonist. He lives with his secretary Judit and her son Diego. Since his blindness was result of a car accident, Harry doesn't do much now except laze about and seduce young women. He is suddenly confronted by Ray X, a mysterious filmmaker, to write a script but refuses. Then, we are informed of Harry's past as we learn X was part of it. Many years ago, Harry (then Mateo) directed a film called Girls and Suitcases which is very similar to Women on the Border of a Nervous Breakdown. He was also having a romantic affair with leading actress Lena (Penelope Cruz). Her official lover was an older politician who hired Ray X to spy on the production by filming a "making of" documentary. This culminates with a pre-arranged car crash that kills Lena and incapacitates Harry.
Unlike his last film Volver, which is almost fantasy, Broken Embraces is set in present day and, thus, demands more scrutiny. It is easy to summarize but difficult to watch. So much happens during the brief two hour running time that whole scenes and characters are rendered pointless. Some of these unnecessary inclusions are cute, even memorable. Take Diego for instance. He is used to move the story from 2008 to 1992 and inject commentary about Girls and Suitcases. Even a key revelation yet obvious revelation about him is without point. I did, however, like his idea for a film involving vampire sex. Even if he vomits cheap humor, it is still Almodóvar humor, which means it's clever.
Penélope Cruz is still impressive in her forth collaboration with Almodóvar. Her resilience in displaying a wide array of emotions is especially impressive. Her character is flirtatiously playful in the same way she is in Bandidas and then melodramatic in the brief Girls and Suitcases segment. We even get to see her try out outrageous wigs during the filming of the above film. Cruz is also capable of creating a marvelous pout, for lack of a better word, whenever Lena is upset. We sympathize with her like we do a barking puppy. It sometimes works against the film. If it is to be considered a comedy, the occasional serious stops really hurt it. Hence, Diego and the ending clip are there to return the comedic edge.
I also saw Antichrist earlier last week, and have read many reviews citing it as self-indulgent. Still, that film connected with me at a personal level. It is very frightening. A director can be as smug as s/he wishes if the film is still able to strike a chord with viewers. Lars von Trier's new film does that, as many of its detractors have admitted. Broken Embraces may be a similar type of project but is too eccentric to matter to anyone other than its staff. Almodóvar needs some negative press, which I think will affect him (unlike von Trier), to return to the strong narratives of his past. I didn't dislike Broken Embraces but it's too sloppy to warrant a recommendation.
It's mostly a film within a film (sometimes within a film that is within a film). Harry Caine or the blind film director formerly known as Mateo Blanco is the protagonist. He lives with his secretary Judit and her son Diego. Since his blindness was result of a car accident, Harry doesn't do much now except laze about and seduce young women. He is suddenly confronted by Ray X, a mysterious filmmaker, to write a script but refuses. Then, we are informed of Harry's past as we learn X was part of it. Many years ago, Harry (then Mateo) directed a film called Girls and Suitcases which is very similar to Women on the Border of a Nervous Breakdown. He was also having a romantic affair with leading actress Lena (Penelope Cruz). Her official lover was an older politician who hired Ray X to spy on the production by filming a "making of" documentary. This culminates with a pre-arranged car crash that kills Lena and incapacitates Harry.
Unlike his last film Volver, which is almost fantasy, Broken Embraces is set in present day and, thus, demands more scrutiny. It is easy to summarize but difficult to watch. So much happens during the brief two hour running time that whole scenes and characters are rendered pointless. Some of these unnecessary inclusions are cute, even memorable. Take Diego for instance. He is used to move the story from 2008 to 1992 and inject commentary about Girls and Suitcases. Even a key revelation yet obvious revelation about him is without point. I did, however, like his idea for a film involving vampire sex. Even if he vomits cheap humor, it is still Almodóvar humor, which means it's clever.
Penélope Cruz is still impressive in her forth collaboration with Almodóvar. Her resilience in displaying a wide array of emotions is especially impressive. Her character is flirtatiously playful in the same way she is in Bandidas and then melodramatic in the brief Girls and Suitcases segment. We even get to see her try out outrageous wigs during the filming of the above film. Cruz is also capable of creating a marvelous pout, for lack of a better word, whenever Lena is upset. We sympathize with her like we do a barking puppy. It sometimes works against the film. If it is to be considered a comedy, the occasional serious stops really hurt it. Hence, Diego and the ending clip are there to return the comedic edge.
I also saw Antichrist earlier last week, and have read many reviews citing it as self-indulgent. Still, that film connected with me at a personal level. It is very frightening. A director can be as smug as s/he wishes if the film is still able to strike a chord with viewers. Lars von Trier's new film does that, as many of its detractors have admitted. Broken Embraces may be a similar type of project but is too eccentric to matter to anyone other than its staff. Almodóvar needs some negative press, which I think will affect him (unlike von Trier), to return to the strong narratives of his past. I didn't dislike Broken Embraces but it's too sloppy to warrant a recommendation.