Broken Embraces (2009)

Awesome Movie

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Mateo Blanco is a blind writer writing under the pseudonym Harry Caine. He is assisted by Judit García and her son Diego. He pretends to ignore the death of Ernesto Martel. He's inspired to write about a father ignoring his son. Director Ray X wants him to write about his father. He discovers that Ray is Ernesto's son and from his past. In flashbacks, Ernesto is a powerful businessman. His secretary Lena (Penélope Cruz) becomes his mistress. Mateo is a director who still has his eyesight. He takes her as his leading actress and falls for her despite Ernesto financing the project.Pedro Almodóvar has done better. The present day story isn't that compelling. The past story has the magnetic Penélope Cruz. This would be better to bookend the past story with short sections of the present day especially the ending. After Cruz, the ending drags on and on. The constant back and forth timeline leaves this feeling disjointed.

when it comes to Pedro Almodovar's cinema there's always an ocean of red and black combination.and of course Penelope Cruz beauty.as she ages it's like she gets more beautiful and dominates the silver screen.I find story telling a bit in a hurry.The crossings between events could be slower not sharp.there are some Hitchcockian moments like when two cars go one after another with headlights and the moment when Ernesto pushes Lena.director makes you feel like you are there among the characters but when director gets you out of there with scenes from above it's like you are dragged out of movie.towards the end plot gets unnecessarily complicated.do we really need to know that Mateo is Diego's true father? and when Mateo re-edits movie I expect a connection between movie's name,girls and suitcases, and the accident.It could be more Hitchcookian and exciting.

There is more to a broken man, than just what he is showing. That is what we are about to see in this movie. And while you might have one opinion about the guy, when you see him do something (either adoring him or despising him), you might change your mind, while your perspective is being changed.A very good study of a man and a movie that builds slowly, but has enough of a punch to drag you in. If there is a style recognizable to Almodovar movies, he has his signature all over this movie. This is more character driven, with crazy situations, but still has a lot of heart to it. You either love those kind of things, or you do hate them as much as you can possible hate them ...

For me, an Almodovar film is always a mixed bag. Broken Embraces is no exception. On the plus side, you have the consistently excellent dialogue that always features interesting information. For example, at the beginning of the film, Harry Caine (formerly Mateo) with his agent and former lover, Judit, discuss adapting a true-life story about playwright Arthur Miller, who placed his mentally handicapped child in an institution. There's another scene where Harry and Diego come up with a clever idea for a new screenplay—a group of vampires who work at a blood bank. The whole idea is very creative but it goes on too long (like so many other aspects of Almodovar's scenes); and when the two add in all the sexual jokes, I just wondered, is all this necessary?Some internet posters felt that Diego's accidental overdose was an unnecessary scene which added little to the overall plot. It did go on a bit too long but obviously served as a device to introduce the series of flashbacks which Harry relates to Diego as he tells the story of his affair with Lena. For awhile, Almodovar emulates Hitchcock, and it appears that Broken Embraces is headed for neo-noir territory. Almodovar introduces us to the enigmatic Ray X, Ernesto Martel's insecure gay son, who trails Lena and Mateo around with his camcorder while they conduct their furtive affair during the filming of Mateo's new comedy 'Chicas y Maletas'. And then there's another unique character, Lola, the lip reader who Martel hires to try and deduce what Lena and Mateo are up to.Despite the unique setup and characters, Almodovar is unable to sustain the suspense which we would expect from a film which is modeled on Hitchcock. In a scene straight out of the 1945 tear-jerker, Leave Her to Heaven, Martel, consumed with jealousy, (and channeling Gene Tierney), pushes Lena down the stairs. The film virtually grinds to a halt after Lena and Mateo decide to flee from Madrid and Lena takes a job at a tourist hotel. Almodovar does answer one of the central questions of the film—how did Harry end up going blind? I suppose it's best that he doesn't have Martel take revenge on Harry by blinding him. It's fate that ends up doing Harry in—a chance car accident that takes his eyesight and kills Lena at the same time. Ernesto does take his revenge by cutting up 'Chicas y Maletas'.If the car accident seems anti-climactic, the film's denouement appears even more so. Judit confesses first that Harry is Diego's father. She further confesses that she accepted money from Martel in exchange for revealing the whereabouts of Lena and Mateo while they were on the run back in 1994. This allowed Ernesto Jr. to film Mateo and Lena's last kiss before the unfortunate car accident. Judit makes it clear however, that Junior had nothing to do with the car accident—that it was simply a matter of fate. Fortunately, she saved the original takes of 'Chicas y Maletas' and Mateo and Diego get to work on re-editing the 'masterpiece'. Even better, Harry decides to dispense with his Harry altar ego and goes back to being Mateo. In that respect, Mateo's character arc is complete.The film could have ended right there but no Almodovar has to show us scenes from the re-cut 'Chicas y Maletas'. And no, unfortunately, it's not the comic masterpiece, he would like his audience to think it is! It's just another example of Almodovar's tendency toward overkill in his overall approach toward film making.Broken Embraces features rich cinematography with a plethora of arresting images. You also cannot go wrong with the actors here from Lluis Homar's low key but intense Harry and the over the top but thoroughly enjoyable Penelope Cruz. With some judicious editing (particularly with the final film within a film), Broken Embraces could have been a much better film. With Almodovar, too much of a good thing is not always good.