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N.Y.F.F 47th

Broken Embrace

Reviewed by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

"Broken Embraces" is a noir plot line, telling a stimulating story of an affair between a call girl turned actress and her director. It's a sleek and swank outing from Pedro Almodovar's latest edition about a shattered man was given an unusual second chance for recapturing a lost love.

Harry Caine (Luis Homar) is is a movie director and writer who has used only his writing pseudonym since an automobile accident 14 years ago, which deprived him of his eyesight and his girlfriend Lena (Penelope Cruz), with whom he was deeply involved with at the time.

One day, Harry gets a surprise visit from a young man named Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) who wants to collaborate with Harry on a film about his abusive father. But Harry instantly recognizes the voice of Ray as the closeted gay son of Ernesto (Jose Luis Gomez), the recently deceased billionaire who both financed and sabotaged Harry's last film.

Ernesto was the ultra-rich man who has everything including the woman of his dreams. Possessive toward his mistress, Lena, he forced his son to spy on her liaisions with Harry. The other key character, Harry's agent, Judit Garcia (Blanca Portillo) is frustrated a long time with her relationship with Harry and with her teenaged deejay son Diego (Tamar Novas). Harry tells Judit that he wants to write a screenplay based on Arthur Miller's son, a boy with Down's Syndrome who was initially rejected by his father, but embraced in adulthood when Miller gave a speech about the handicapped.

Luis Homar portrays emotions of hope and despair through the stages of grief. Penelope Cruz is stunning, sexy and touching as Lena. Director Pedro Almodovar here tackles a sumptuous and saddening feast of noir messages, combining a series of interlocking flashbacks with suspenseful moments and capturing a dark humor and the power of love. In the end, everyone seems to have an alter ego.

Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar; director of photography, Rodrigo Prieto; edited by José Salcedo; music by Alberto Iglesias; art director, Antxon Gómez; produced by Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García; released by Sony Pictures Classics. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes.

Cast: Penélope Cruz (Lena), Lluís Homar (Mateo/Harry Caine), Blanca Portillo (Judit), José Luis Gómez (Ernesto Martel), Rubén Ochandiano (Ray X) and Tamar Novas (Diego).