Quick takes on Julieta and other Almodóvar films

In the last couple years, I’ve become an increasingly big fan of Pedro Almodóvar’s films. I’ve seen several of his earlier films, but needed to catch up on his newer stuff, so that’s where I went today, starting with 2004’s Bad Education. Taking place in 1980, it follows a film director, Enrique, who is visited by a former schoolmate, Ignacio. Ignacio and Enrique once shared a sexual moment at their Catholic boarding school as young teens, and Ignacio is now looking for a job as an actor. He has brought a short story called “The Visit,” which tells the story of their time at school, including young Ignacio’s time being assaulted by the priest. In the story, Ignacio’s character grows up to be a transgender drag queen. Enrique is enraptured with the story and wants to turn it into a film, but doesn’t think Ignacio can play the part of himself, believing his muscular physique isn’t feminine enough for the role. Ignacio is sure he can lose weight and slender down to take the role. As the film plays out, we see the continuing of the story-within-a-story, as well as secrets that come to life about Ignacio, that he has kept from Enrique. It is a fairly gripping story, and has a bit of a surprise ending, but I wasn’t enthralled throughout, like I was on other, upcoming films, like the next one… ★★★

Volver kept my attention throughout, and it helps that it features a magnetic Penélope Cruz in the lead role. Raimunda lives in a tiny apartment in Madrid with her husband Paco and teenage daughter Paula. Raimunda and her sister Sole grew up in a tiny village, a village with a reputation for ill winds from the east and residents with so-so sanity. Case in point: their aunt Paula (for whom Raimunda’s daughter was named). Aunt Paula is growing senile and believes she is visited by her sister Irene, Raiumunda’s and Sole’s deceased mother, who died in a fire 4 years prior. That’s the backstory. At first, the action of the film follows Raimunda’s little circle. Paco has been making disgusting eyes at his daughter Paula, and makes a move on her one evening while Raiumunda is away. Paula kills her father, stabbing him to death, and upon returning home, Raiumunda stuffs the body in a deep freezer at a local restaurant. Around the same time, Aunt Paula dies, and Irene’s ghost makes itself known to Sole. Since Aunt Paula no longer needs her, Irene has moved in with the single Sole, so she won’t be lonely. Meanwhile, little tidbits about Irene’s life, as well as the estrangement between her and Raiumunda, begin to come to life, not to mention how the neighbor (Augustine) was involved. Lots of loops, lots of morbid laughs, and plenty of high blood pressure inducing emotion make this a fun film to watch, and one that I think has a high “rewatchability” factor. ★★★★

Broken Embraces has an interesting premise, but meanders around way too much for any sort of big payoff in the end. It follows a blind screenwriter named Harry Caine, who once was a non-visiually impaired director named Mateo Blanco. Something in his past made him change his name, and the reasoning unfolds over time. Harry is visited by a rich s.o.b. with a story to tell, but the tale he weaves sets off all kinds of alarms in Harry’s head. Turns out the rich man is Ernesto Martel Jr, whose father Harry knew very well. Told in flashback, we see that Ernesto Sr was a wealthy businessman who courted his secretary, Lena, into a love affair. Lena ends up falling for hotshot director Mateo though, and they begin an affair on the side. Nothing is going to go well for anyone in this scenario. What should be a deep engaging mystery falls off the rails well before the big climax. The whole thing felt too disjointed, and several of the characters too contrived. There’s some solid acting in most of the roles, but not enough great moments to bring up the low points. Very average. ★★½

The Skin I Live In has an interesting premise, and is Almodóvar’s version of a horror film. The set up is this: Robert (Antonio Banderas) is a renowned surgeon who is working on new techniques that may advance the medical field significantly. He claims to be testing on mice, but in reality, he’s been holding a woman, Vera (Elena Anaya), captive for years, and she’s been his test subject. The only person in on the kidnapping is the head of housekeeping in the expansive mansion, Marilia, who we later find out is Robert’s mother. Into this crazy scenario comes Zeca, a criminal that is tied up in this family and its history. He comes into the house one day and wrecks the cozy little play Robert has been running, and the intrique only gets better from there. The first 45 minutes of this film were fantastic, and then it took a (seemingly) weird turn. We flash back 6 years prior, to how Robert lost his wife and daughter, both to mental illness. Robert’s answer to this tragedy was to kidnap the man who raped his daughter and chain him up in the basement, Saw style. This little detour into Robert’s first kidnapping had me wondering where all this was going, but the payoff comes, you just have to ride it out. Ended up being a very good, sickly twisted, mental thriller, with a tremendous performance by Anaya as Vera. ★★★½

Julieta is a middle-aged woman whose life, at the beginning of the film, seems nice and calm. However, a chance encounter with a childhood friend of her daughter, Antia, throws her cushy lifestyle into turmoil. Julieta immediately cancels her move to Portugal with her boyfriend, and hastily moves from her current apartment, across town to her old building, where she used to live with her daughter. Told mostly in flashback from here on out, we learn about Antia’s birth through teenage years, and what led to her estrangement from Julieta. It’s now been over a decade since the two have even spoke, and Julieta has become obsessed with seeing her again. Afraid she’ll never get a chance if she moves away, Julieta doesn’t want to leave the one place where Antia might find her again. It’s a wonderfully emotional film, very human and nuanced, about a woman dealing with a lifetime of grief and loss, who has felt betrayed time and again in her life. ★★★★½

• TV series currently watching: M.O.D.O.T. (series)
• Book currently reading: Song of Susannah by Stephen King