Broken Embraces

The eagerly awaited 17th feature by one of the world's leading directors, Pedro Almodóvar (Volver, Talk to Her), is a lavish melodrama tinged with humor, showcasing the spectacular talents of Penélope Cruz. The story is told in flashback by Harry Caine (Lluís Homar, Bad Education), a blind screenwriter, who reveals that before an auto accident took his sight and the life of his love, he was the famous director Mateo Blanc. He had fallen in love with his leading lady, Lena (Cruz), who had made movie star when the ruthless industrialist Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez) became her lover and patron. The film Mateo is making with Lena (for which the jealous Martel insists on being producer) is a kinky comedy called Girls and Suitcases, reminiscent of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. As Mateo and Lena try to get away together for a romantic tryst, Martel's gay son is constantly following and videotaping them for a "making of" feature—which Martel uses for surveillance (even getting a lip reader to decode the lovers' conversations). (Fully subtitled)

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Cast:

Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez, Tamar Novas, Rubén Ochandiano 

Reviews:

The New York Times, A.O. Scott