MovieChat Forums > Los abrazos rotos (2010) Discussion > Easily One of Almodovar's Best.

Easily One of Almodovar's Best.

posted 15 years ago by DexterManning
19 replies | jump to latest

I saw "Broken Embraces" on Friday evening not knowing much about it other than it's by Pedro Almodovar, which in itself is enough reason for me to go see it. He's one of my favorite directors and there hasn't been a film I've seen of his that I didn't enjoy. But this one, for me, is easily one of his best endeavors, as far as the portion of his work I've seen (most of his films from the 1990s and every feature from this decade).It even rivals "All About My Mother," which is still my favorite Almodovar film (and which happens to be the first one I saw). I found the story and the characters in "Embraces" to be quite engrossing, though sometimes the plot was a bit complicated (nothing that future showings wouldn't help unravel though). But what's an Almodovar film without juicy layers of complexity, right? I appreciate the fact that no major character, save for Diego, is flawless. A viewer can sympathize with a given character in one scene then hate him or her in a later scene because of their behavior and treatment of others, etc.Hopefully, soon a box set of this director's films will be released, preferably on Blu-ray (I would imagine that would be inevitable). I would love to have this film in one package that also includes "All About My Mother," "Bad Education," "Live Flesh," "The Flower of My Secret" and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." (assuming the distribution rights to all those titles are held by one studio, which I'm not sure of).What do you think? How do you think this film stacks up against his many others?

[–] droop 15 years ago

I've never seen his other films, but I loved this movie so much, I updated my entire netflix que with his films!

[–] mulholland_empire 13 years ago

i think ive seen almost all of his films and i can honestly say that broken embraces is one of his lesser works. now im not saying its a bad film but compared to talk to her bad education matador atame! and even skin i live in, broken embraces is just not nearly as good. actually when i saw it in the theater, it was the first time i ever actually felt let-down by an almodovar film...........skin i live in quickly made up for this tho ;)

[–] blackvenom-1 13 years ago

It's not a great film, not on par with Talk to Her, Volver, All About My Mother, High Heels, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and The Skin I Live In, but it's pretty damn close.
It's a movie within a movie. It's a movie with constant references to Almodovar's filmography and cinema in general (Audrey Hepburn for instance). The direction is lovely and both Penelope Cruz and Blanca Portillo are sensational, particularly Cruz in a brilliantly complex and engaging performance. It's a very good film, despite some flaws in the narrative, which aren't even substantial enough to criticize, actually. Yes, we don't get the typical surreal feel of most Almodovar films but this isn't a bad thing. He wanted to create a down-to-earth melodrama that is a homage to his own work through the years, the cinema in general and his muse, Penelope.

[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

With Almodóvar especially, I have trouble comparing his films because all of them are excellent – though of course some or more excellent than others, while some are less excellent than others. I'd say this is somewhere in the middle, not quite as good as "All About My Mother" or "Volver," but certainly better than "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down."

I much prefer his more personal, "chamber" dramas like this than the wacky satires like "Dark Habits," though I love Almodóvar in all his forms. I'm giving this 8/10 for now, but I may upgrade when I watch this again someday.

[–] reichen4eva (252) 5 years ago

Not on par with Bad Education, Volver, The Skin I Live In, Talk to Her or All About My Mother.