Do young, beautiful women screw middle-aged blind men in Spain or was it a groupie thing? Maybe she knew he was once a big time director. If Mateo was a well known director wouldn't everyone know about all this (his affair with the mistress of a well known businessman who died)? How could they have kept it from their son?
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
I wondered the same thing. That scene was absurd to me that I almost stopped watching the film. Since when are "Perfect 10" women reading papers to old blind men? The answer is never. But then an even more absurd thing happens and she lets the man undress her, fondle her breasts and f-ck her as if she was paid to do it, except that we are meant to believe that she actually wanted to do it. Harry Caine was at that time just a writer and I doubt that given their age difference she would even know who he was. Even if she did, he would at least have to be her sugar daddy for her to let him f-ck her, just like Lena did with Ernesto. That's the only way old fugly guys get model girlfriends; I doubt Spain is different from the rest of the world. The dude was a wrinkly old man, not much different from Ernesto who was apparently a "monster" when he was boinking Lena. That scene actually annoyed the hell out of me; "Eeeewwww!!!" would be the only sound coming from that girl's mouth after he started touching her.
shareI disagree. I thought that it was pretty obvious that the girl was turned on by the fact that this man, who was not fugly by any means, was blind. She felt a sudden rush out of it. Oh, she was into it, let me tell ya.
shareYou're either being facetious or are yourself in your 60s and want to believe that super hot women who can get anyone get turned on by bold, wrinkly, old men. I'm not arguing she was turned on in the film; I'm arguing it was absurd to make it so to begin with. And it is not with me you disagree; you disagree with facts of life.
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I'm a 21 year old gay guy, though how is that relevant? This is an Almodovar film we're talking about, and hello, people get turned on by the weirdest things. I totally believed that the girl was turned on by the fact that Mateo/Harry was blind, she may even had a fetich about it.
Ok, fair enough :) I thoroughly enjoy Almodovar's unique ideas in filmmaking, but the way I look it, as a 36-year-old straight male who has dated a lot over the years, women of that caliber don't simply hang around elderly blind men; neither are they easily seduced by them. It just struck me as very absurd and random. But I guess that's Almodovar's for you...
shareI think the meeting was contrived by the girl and Harry realised this early on. The girl claimed she knew Martel's granddaughter but Harry denied knowing him. She started with a specific obituary but, when that avenue of conversation was closed, she non-commitedly scanned the newspaper categories.
It is noticeable that her foot (the only bare flesh in focus during the sex) was being rested on the top of the sofa and she promptly disengaged when he finishes. She offered casual sex and, when she returned from the bathroom, I suspect was going to ask for a favour.
The girl then deliberately stood on Harry's bare foot because he had ended the intimacy and scuppered her plan by allowing Judit to stay.
The scene introduces us to a Harry who is in control and wise to intrigue despite his apparent blindness and Judit's concerns.
ig7, Thank you for the detailed explanation of the scene, which does nothing to address my point. My point is that wrinkly, old guys, especially blind, are not sought after by gorgeous women, and that scene was just too absurd, even by this director's standards.
shareActually, he perfectly explained the scene and your misgivings about it.
shareActually, you need a reality check on how real life works. That's what I like about a lot of Spanish directors - the ability to invoke true human emotions and capture the realism of life; none of that contrived Hollywood bs. This was as Hollywood bs as it gets.
shareOk, Mr. Reality. Try re-reading what ig7 wrote: "I think the meeting was contrived by the girl and Harry realised this early on."
Has the penny dropped yet?
What was "contrived" was the scene. Perhaps you should re-read what the discussion is all about. Has reading comprehension dropped yet?
shareAlright, it's as I thought. You're another insecure weirdo who's still in metaphorical nappies. Have fun, you're on your own now.
shareHey Freud, yes, old, blind men in fantasy movie scenes make me very insecure, indeed. Or maybe I'm simply allergic to *beep* Btw, funny because you conjure up an image of an insecure weirdo who sits home alone dissecting every scene for hours to kill time in his mundane existence. I will have fun this weekend and the next, but not on my own, I assure you.
shareI was only posting a speculative opinion that you are welcome to constructively accept or dispute. There is plenty of guff and nonsense posted on these boards. I try hard to fill my quota. There is no need to get personal.
I like the suggestion that the blonde scene conveyed two related ideas from the movie-making world: the casting couch and the closed inner circle. The first tries to buy influence; the second the result of distrust of opportunist strangers. This scene also served to provide an unexpected visual treat and displayed an impish humour that perked up the mood during the potential longueurs of character and narrative introductions.
Pedro's part alter ego, Harry, maintains his reserve during the encounter, thus denying us an immediate explanation. He may be blind but he is not naive. It's the audience who are the lacking insight at this stage.
The blonde may well have been a facilitator for the wealthy Martel Jr. A honey trap to put Harry in the position of feeling indebted; or at least put him in a receptive mood. The blonde may have tried to convince him she was the quarry but it may actually be the other way round. As was shown later in the morning, the direct appeal by Martel Jr. did not work either.
The blindness motif is all about the ways of seeing and interpreting. The ambiguity is not going to be fully resolved.
...the girl was turned on by the fact that this man, who was not fugly by any means, was blind. She felt a sudden rush out of it. Oh, she was into it, let me tell ya.
She was into it because the script said she had to be into it. It was ridiculous. This is the first Almovadar film that I've ever seen and I had to turn it off after this scene because it was total BS.
"That's a very, very heavy burtation!"
To:sergio Iv13... I agree with your comment, I always laugh when people say why would she be with him, there could be many reasons and they choose that whatever it is it must be cynical for it to have happened. And i just don't get it, they must don't get out much because I see this more than i see two good looking people together. So i keep wondering just what motivates these type of comments. I guess there is no answer, other than there airing there warped perception to others.
shareYour points make sense, but she was clearly not a "Perfect 10". I would give her 8.5 at most.
Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.share
In the first 15 minutes of the film, I believed that the film was about this famous writer/director who was pretending he was blind, I figured that woman knew who he was and that's why that scene happened. In that context it was made more sense. Can it happen in real life yes, but I wouldn't say it's a normal occurrence
share<Do young, beautiful women screw middle-aged blind men in Spain or was it a groupie thing?
In college, I was a reader for a blind student. He was 20 years older than most of the students, his face was disfigured from an industrial accident, and yet he did quite well with the ladies.
A few did seem to come onto him.
So it didn't seem out of the question to me.
People, it's what on the inside that counts!
It wasn't implausible at all. He was an attractive older man, and knew how to use charm to get to her. A lot of young women are attracted to older men (moreso than younger men to older women); men can pull off the "distinguished" look better than women. I don't think there was any special significance to the character. She was just there as part of the exposition of "Harry Caine's" current lifestyle: he was blind but still living it up.
shareI saw nothing unusual about her willingness to be seduced by him, even if it was purely a casual encounter. He's not that old, wrinkled or infirm. He's how old, 50? 55 tops? Hardly elderly and still quite fit.
Rod Stewart gets away with it and he's how old??!
Maybe she wanted to test out the theory that blind/deaf people are more gifted in other areas.
Maybe though she had a connection to the Martel family, which is interesting. I'll have to watch that scene again, because I was wondering about the significance of her standing on his toes (you'd think it would be the other way around, he would have more reason to be clumsy).
And don't forget Lena spends a couple years with an ever older gentleman (though clearly there's no physical attraction and she feels obliged).
What I was really hoping for after Judit barges in and says 'this place is a mess' was for Henry/Mateo to say 'how would I know?' lol
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