I write as a committed fan of both Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz so any new film from the Spanish maestro is always going to find favour with me. Broken Embraces is no exception.
The film does, however, seem to lack the vivid nature of Volver which seemed to drip colours and emotions from the screen and took the viewer on a captivating journey. Broken Embraces felt like an altogether more restrained and toned down affair.
The usual Almodovar themes of love, sex and death are revisited in this film and there are some beautifully written and acted scenes around all three of these subjects.
While Penelope Cruz shone in the role of Lena, it was,unusually for a Pedro film, a male lead that stood out for me - Lluis Homer as Mateo / Harry was strong, credible and engrossing throughout.
A strong cast in support with excellent performances from Blanco Portillo as Judit and Tamer Noves notable as Diego, Judit's son.
There were a couple of points in the film where I felt that we were building up to the conclusion, particularly after the scenes in Lanzarote only for the film to press on for a number of additional scenes. Even though this film is not particularly long, these , to me, false finishes made it seem longer than it could have been.
The film within the film - Girls and Suitcases - did not engage me wholly and felt like a distraction of sorts towards the end, though i understood why it was crucial to the stor as a whole
Overall a good and satisfying film and one to be recommended - the scenes involving Lena & Mateo were spell binding at times and I particularly enjoyed the scene between Mateo & Diego as they bounced ideas off each other for a new drama about a blood donor drive organised by vampires.....
The film does, however, seem to lack the vivid nature of Volver which seemed to drip colours and emotions from the screen and took the viewer on a captivating journey. Broken Embraces felt like an altogether more restrained and toned down affair.
The usual Almodovar themes of love, sex and death are revisited in this film and there are some beautifully written and acted scenes around all three of these subjects.
While Penelope Cruz shone in the role of Lena, it was,unusually for a Pedro film, a male lead that stood out for me - Lluis Homer as Mateo / Harry was strong, credible and engrossing throughout.
A strong cast in support with excellent performances from Blanco Portillo as Judit and Tamer Noves notable as Diego, Judit's son.
There were a couple of points in the film where I felt that we were building up to the conclusion, particularly after the scenes in Lanzarote only for the film to press on for a number of additional scenes. Even though this film is not particularly long, these , to me, false finishes made it seem longer than it could have been.
The film within the film - Girls and Suitcases - did not engage me wholly and felt like a distraction of sorts towards the end, though i understood why it was crucial to the stor as a whole
Overall a good and satisfying film and one to be recommended - the scenes involving Lena & Mateo were spell binding at times and I particularly enjoyed the scene between Mateo & Diego as they bounced ideas off each other for a new drama about a blood donor drive organised by vampires.....