Tamar Novas
Looking for a love story with some substance beyond the twitter me today go tomorrow genre? Desire something more from the script than beer, bars, and banal bs banter and cheap pick up lines? On the lookout for some male and female characters with more on their menus than moronically manipulating your heart strings? Wanting some cinematography you can fall into without missing a single step? Then pick up Broken Embraces. Pedro Almodovar’s film making team delivers the real deal. Cruz is genuinely wonderful but she’s not the only reason to catch this movie gem. Tamar Novas is delightful as Diego, the personification of tender innocence with an undercurrent of integrity and emotional strength. Blanca Portillo is incredible as a woman hiding all sorts of secrets. LLouis Homar–well, it could be the great masculine role he’s playing or it could be his great acting or it could be his own innate intelligence in bringing this man to life with all his complexity–but whatever it is, I’m hard pressed to conjure up the name of a single American actor who could even dream of performing at the standard he sets in this film. And then there’s Jose Luis Gomez with the most expressive facial features ever—the man knows how to pull all his own physical strings for his acting bag to the utmost. His eyes tell volumes in Broken Embraces. And that’s not all there is to relish in this piece of film-making art. The trailer is a tease. I urge you to venture to the official movie site for some ‘fun’ playing with the designer’s presentation of the film. http://www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/main.html
Oh and if you rent this on dvd–DO NOT MISS the special feature selection titled the Cannibalistic Councilor. OMG! LOL–I so hope this is lurking in someone’s braincase as full length feature film. Oh YES!
Other great films by Almodovar include Volver, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and All About My Mother.
Pedro Almodovar
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
47whitebuffalo's Blog 
Oscar Zed said,
August 13, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Alarmingly literate critique. I was born in Venezuela as a polyglot, and can still understand most films in spanish. Almodovar’s films still challenge me though because of his use of the superiour and the demotic to identify “class”
47whitebuffalo said,
August 13, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Oh Oscar Zed–what a ‘name’ you have. Zed–the ‘end’ and Oscar–so appropriate for a film lover. If that you be.
OOO thank you for “alarmingly literate”–now that’s a compliment I’ll gleefully take with a smile.
As for Almodovar’s film commentary on ‘class’–yes–that is certainly part of Broken Embraces–the use of money and privilege by one ‘class’ to gain control of someone in desperate need. One of the things that makes him a great film-maker are the serious issues so subltely presented yet undeniably influential in the storylines. Great stuff.
y said,
August 13, 2010 at 12:16 pm
i love Volver! i’ve had this on my must-see list for awhile! thank you for the update.
47whitebuffalo said,
August 13, 2010 at 7:26 pm
OH Yi-Ching! Volver! Oh yes. La Cruz is terrific in that film. And what supporting cast it has. LOL. They’re very different storylines–but–do let me know which film you enjoy more.
Camilla said,
August 13, 2010 at 6:43 am
I’ll have to watch this now 🙂
47whitebuffalo said,
August 13, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Hi Camilla. I seriously doubt Broken Embraces will disappoint you. Please do return and post your thoughts even if it does!