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Review: Broken Embraces

Justine JC — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:11:38 +0000

An Official Selection of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Sony Pictures presents Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces. After Live Flesh, All About My Mother, and the critically acclaimed Volver, Almodovar teams up, yet again, with the effortlessly impressive Ms. Penelope Cruz giving us another gut-wrenching masterpiece.

Check out the review below…

The Players:

Writer/Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Gomez, Tamar Novas
Producers: Augustine Almodovar, Esther Garcia
Original Score: Alberto Iglesias
Editing: Jose Salcedo

Synposis:

The story is about a man who “writes, lives, and loves in darkness.” Fourteen years before the movie starts, he was in a brutal car accident that left him blind and without his muse (and love of his life), Lena. This man possesses a double identity: Harry Caine, the pseudonym with which he signs all of his literary works, and Mateao Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the films he directs. After the accident, he reduces himself wholly to Harry Caine. Currently working as a blind writer, Harry Caine is assisted by his production manager and long time friend, Judit Garcia, and her son, Diego. Diego has an accident when Judit is out of town, Harry elects to take care of him – with all the downtime, Diego asks Harry about his former life as Mateo Blanco. Mateo reveals his past, specifically his experiences filming “Girls and Suticases,” and the vicious love triangle that evolved between himself, Lena, and the film’s producer, Ernesto.

The Good:

“Making Of” – While Lena and Mateo film “Girls and Suitcases,” Ernesto hires his son to shoot the “making of,” so he can spy on their on-set relationship. It serves as a parallel narrative to the primary story, but also as uncensored insight into the “reality” of Lena and Mateo’s “collaborative” relationship. It was an inventive excuse for Almodovar to subtly exceed his dramatic quota.
Noir - The film has all the ingredients of classic “noir,” while still maintaining its contemporary flare. And, for a large fraction of the film Lena has all the attributes of the “femme fatale” – dark, ambitious beauty, a humble past but the confidence and inclination to take risks, etc. Juicy.
Relationships - There is a massive amount of character-overlapping in this piece, and the fabulous complications only further enrich Almodovar’s plot-line. As the story unfolds, each character delivers a scandalous contribution to the chaos.
Commentary on Filmmaking: I’m going to go ahead and clock in as the ardent film journalist and admit, without shame, that I dig movies ABOUT filmmaking. Yes, potential overkill. But in the case of Broken Embraces, it only strengthens Almodovar’s theme. He really dramatizes the importance of editing – specifically the relationship between editor and director. Who’s the REAL story teller? And how easily can a swap of a “take” re-shape an entire story?

The Bad:

Length: I reluctantly admit the film is a little long. Did it sway my opinion of the movie even remotely? No. So don’t invest too much thought in this bullet point.

Overall:

It’s hard to believe that Pedro Almodovar can top Volver – alas, Broken Embraces trumps with flying colors. It’s a fiercely engaging story, well acted, and beautifully directed. You would be a FOOL to miss this. I smell a Best Foreign Film Nod.

Rating: 9.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Official Broken Embraces Trailer and Poster

Krystal Clark — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:01:57 +0000

A domestic trailer and theatrical poster have just been released for Pedro Almodovar‘s Broken Embraces. The feature once again teams the director with Oscar winner Penelope Cruz in another female driven film. The movie focuses on love, death, identity, and guilt wrapped with beautiful cinematography.

Check out the new poster and trailer…

Check out the poster:

Here’s the synopsis:

A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote. In the accident, he not only lost his sight, he also lost Lena, the love of his life.

This man uses two names: Harry Caine, a playful pseudonym with which he signs his literary works, stories and scripts, and Mateo Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the film he directs. After the accident, Mateo Blanco reduces himself to his pseudonym, Harry Caine. If he can’t direct films he can only survive with the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote with his beloved Lena. In the present day, Harry Caine lives thanks to the scripts he writes and to the help he gets from his faithful former production manager, Judit García, and from Diego, her son, his secretary, typist and guide.

One night Diego has an accident and Harry takes care of him (his mother, Judit, is out of Madrid and they decide not to tell her anything so as not to alarm her). During the first nights of his convalescence, Diego asks him about the time when he answered to the name of Mateo Blanco, after a moment of astonishment Harry can’t refuse and he tells Diego what happened fourteen years before with the idea of entertaining him, just as a father tells his little child a story so that he’ll fall asleep.

What do you think of the trailer for Broken Embraces?

Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces Trailer

Krystal Clark — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:07 +0000

Director Pedro Almodovar‘s upcoming film Broken Embraces has an official trailer, and it’s complete with English subtitles! The film focuses on love, death, identity, and guilt wrapped with beautiful cinematography. In no surprise Penelope Cruz stars as the film’s female lead. You knew she wouldn’t be far behind. Broken Embraces U.S. release date is set for November 20, 2009, but only in limited theaters. I haven’t seen much promotion prior to this, but according to Cinemablend, the following trailer was released by the U.K. film distributor Pathe.

View the trailer for Broken Embraces after the jump.

Yep, this has Almodovar’s signature all over it. I’d heard about Broken Embraces a while a go and I’m happy to see more than just a random clip from it. Foreign films don’t get the best promotion so we’ll keep a look out for any new info about this one.

What do you think of the trailer for Broken Embraces?

ScreenCrave.com » broken embraces

Review: Broken Embraces

The Players:

Synposis:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 9.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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