Broken Embraces

2009, Rated R, 127 minutes,  Directed & Written by Pedro Almodovar, Produced by Agustin Almodovar and Esther Garcia, Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, Original Music by Alberto Iglesias

With: Penelope Cruz (Lena), Lluis Homar (Mateo Blanco/Harry Caine), Blnaco Portillo (Judit Garcia), Jose Luis Gomez (Ernesto Martel), Tamar Novas (Diego), Ruben Ochandiano (Ray X)

Broken Embraces  is the fourth time Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz worked together, and it is this pairing of the two that creates a lush and enthralling noirish love story that will enrapture your senses. Broken Embraces is a beautifully created story about all kinds of love: obsessive love, passionate love, love of family, love of film and love of beauty. Almodovar constructs a beautiful world where Cruz is able to take her acting to places it has never been to breathe a beautiful depth to the film.

The movie is a story about movie director Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar) who also writes screenplays under the pseudonym Harry Caine. When the film opens we learn that he has left behind director Mateo Blanco and is solely known as screenwriter Harry Caine after a terrible accident that blinded him. Weathly businessman Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomes) is somehow connected with the incident. His death forces Caine to confront the issues of his past. He tells the story to DIego (Tamar Novas), his agent’s, Judit Garcia (Blanca Portillo), son.

Fourteen years ago, Mateo was casting for his new movie “Girls and Suitcases” when he meets the beautiful Lena (Penelope Cruz) and immediately falls in love with and casts her for the movie. Lena is in a relationship with Martel who is obsessed with her and agrees to produce the film and finance a documentary so that he can keep his eye on his love. Lena is caught in two worlds: her love for acting and for Mateo, and her miserable life with Martel. And so the story unfolds as the movie is filmed and the love between Mateo and Lena increases while Martel becomes dangerously obsessed with her at the same time. We know that it all leads to the death of Lena and the blinding of Mateo but the story unfolds in an enthralling and beautiful way that captivates you in every cinematic way. The story takes place during the filming of the movie in 1992 and 14 years later at the death of Martel. In the present day Harry Caine has to confront the hurt, pain and loss of Lena and heal the relationships with those around him: Judit and Diego.

There are two things that make this film the beautiful cinescape you see on the screen: Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz. Almodovar creates a visual landscape that is lush, beautiful and filled with color. Every scene cries out in visual wonder from scenes in the writers apartment to set piece scenes created for the movie within the movie that are colorful and vibrant, to the cynical and opulent Martel residence. In one great scene, Almodovar is able to directly comment on the need for color and vibrancy in film as Mateo berates the crew for creating such a placid and colorless set for his movie. His visual color throughout the film enhances the tone.

Almodovar does an excellent job of creating a quite drama thriller with a hint of noir style. The film focuses on the tensions between the characters: Lena and Martel, Mateo and Martel, Mateo and Judit, Judit and Diego. Each character has much more going on in their lives than they let others know. Each one has a secret that they try very hard to keep and that, at the same time, keeps them from moving forward from their past. Each character goes through their own quiet catharsis and in one way or another is forced to confront the very issues they tried so desperately to keep at bay. Almodovar uses this atmosphere to create a quiet and unspoken tension in each scene. It is never certain where he will go next and what they characters will do because of the great tension that exists within the characters and between each one. The tone is quiet yet enthrallingly captivating through its tensions. Almodovar employs subtle tactics to bring out the most of the tension in every scene. 

While almost all of the actors in the movie do an excellent job in their roles, Penelope Cruz steals the show and makes the movie what it is. Many critics have called Broken Embraces  her best work yet as she manages to bring out a quiet intensity, and subtle but strong acting by using fewer words and instead relying on the acting of her eyes and her body language. If a picture is worth 1000 words, then Cruz’s eyes are worth 10000. She manages to portray each intense emotion of sadness, loss, love and hate with her eyes in ways that could not be spoken. In one particular scene, after lying with Martel, without saying a single word, Cruz’s acting tells us that she is unsatisfied, has a deep seated hatred and yet feels trapped in the very world she wants to escape. We get to see her great range when we see scenes from the movie “Girls and Suitcases” where she plays a comedic character. Cruz steps out into this film with a bold subtlety, a deep intensity that breathes life into the film. Almodovar believes he can get so much more out of her because “Hollywood does not take such risks with actors. They are not that rich in female characters either. I have the advantage... She has such faith in me, so I can take more risks, bring out those unseen Penelopes, that other directors would not dare to try or conceive.” (David Gritten, “Pedro Almodovar interview for Broken Embraces,” Telegraph, August 6, 2009) If that is the case, let’s hope that this is not the last of the Almodovar Cruz pairing.

Almodovar does an excellent job of fleshing out the various themes of the movie. Love is a central element of the film and various dimensions of love are addressed in the film: the obsessive love of Martel, the passionate love between Mateo and Lena, and also familial love between Judit and Diego. Family plays a central role in the film in the form of Judit and Diego and also their relationship with Mateo if while not official, is very family like as each person does what they think is best for the other. 

Broken Embraces is also a wonderful homage to film. We are brought into the world of a screenwriter and get to observe the process he goes through. We also the tension, drama and process of making a film in the form of “Girls and Suitcases.” Almodovar clearly pays homage to classic films of the past whether it is indirectly within scenes or directly when Lena and Mateo watch Rosellini’s Voyage to Italy or when Mateo goes through a list of classic films as he helps Diego find Elevator to the Gallows.  Almodovar references the great actresses of the past, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Sophia Loren as Lena tries on various wigs during production of “Girls and Suitcases.” Almodovar is clearly inspired by the cinematic past as he creates his own classic cinematic landscape.  

Broken Embraces is a film that will have a lasting impact. It is a dramatic film noir that seeps into your mind and fills you with tension and intrigue, but does it quietly and subtly. Vibrant colors, excellent themes, superb direction, and exquisite acting combine to great a wonderful film that speaks softly but has a lot to say.

A

Content Advisory

There are several sensual scenes in the movie and two instances of brief female nudity during 2 sex scenes that are portrayed discreetly that take place in the movie. Several instances of language.

Food for thought/discussion

1. Discuss the various love relationships in the movie. Are any of them healthy love relationships?

2. What role does family play in the film?

3. How does Mateo change in the film? What impact does his confronting his past have on him?