Broken Embraces Movie Review

Directed by Pedro Almodovar, starring Penelope Cruz.

If you’ve been wondering where Penelope Cruz has been hiding these past few years, it would be easiest to say that she has been serving as Pedro Almodovar’s muse. In exchange she gets to showcase the array of acting talents that she has available in her extensive arsenal. Broken Embraces is about a blind screenwriter, Harry Caine, who plunges into a series of vivid flashbacks that deal with the past 14 years of his life. Passion, creativity and obsession all become key elements in retelling his love affair with actress, Lena. Drama ensues as Lena attempts to loosen the ties that bind while simultaneously juggling her role as mistress to a very wealthy businessman.

To summarize and explain all of the elements of this movie or any of Almodovar’s other works would be considered a blemish or at least an unfair depiction. Some things in life must be experienced through the individual and a review only tells of certain aspects being employed in the bigger work. It is the experience of his movies, like entering the world with brand new eyes, which is most rewarding. There are times when it seems like an average director could be working behind the lens, but that is only because he wants you to pay attention to the dialogue and waves of layered information, offering certain truths to be revealed later through the skilled application of denouement. And when the time comes to stretch his legs, making the reds more vibrant, bringing the camera focus from zoom to panorama, it all becomes as powerful and as close to a quasi-religious experience that exists in film. You can only relax and sit back with a smile on your face because that is how gratifying it feels to watch his movies. While it is not a new direction for Almodovar and the work he has done over the years, it is exemplary in the symbolic evolution and honing of his craft. So there is cause for optimism about what the future offers as long as he continues making films that dazzle us with his impeccably remarkable aim.


Look for the next week’s post discussing The 50 Best Movies of the Decade.