Los Abrazos Rotos /Broken Embraces Pedro Almodóvar

Probably the most contested film of his whole filmography, Broken Embraces, the latest work of Almodóvar, arrives surrounded by controversy. Is it good? Is it bad (or even his worst)? One thing is clear though: its creator loves it. Los abrazos rotos, in its original title, isn’t only a showcase of style, in which the master puts on the table all he has learnt along the years, but also a less than humble tribute to his own career. The film is full of references to his previous works - for example the movie shot by the main character in the film emulates the funniest moments of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios). Besides this, the rather vain beginning credits state only “written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar”. In view of this introduction, one can only think that the director is really proud of the result.

And rightly so, in my opinion, because the truth is that it is a brilliant film; this movie is a constant demonstration of the art with which Almodóvar handles the camera, in a continuous coming and going of impeccable movements. Not always with foundation, but correct, after all. We are faced with one of those stories which condenses the special universe of its author. A story in which there’s place for jealousy, guilt, passion, envy, resignation and especially love. All of this constructed around several genres, from the most intense melodrama to the purest film noir. And all performed by an unbeatable cast, helped by great supporting actors.

The story tells, through many flashbacks, how the life of the main character - a filmmaker who became a writer due to an accident which left him blind - has changed since his first meeting with a debutante actress. Eventually, things start to unwind. The script is sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious, with no moment of rest for the viewer, who witnesses, engrossed, an avalanche of dialogues which leave him absorbed during the two-and-a-half-hour length of the film. Colour and dynamism, in an ambitious and complex movie which covers almost every genre, and which would seem to re-launch our feeble Spanish cinema.

Andrea Franco.