MovieChat Forums > Los abrazos rotos (2010) Discussion > Beautiful film. Beach scene had me in te...

Beautiful film. Beach scene had me in tears..

posted 15 years ago by jamie147
5 replies | jump to latest

I saw this last night and thought it was brilliant. I am really looking forward to seeing it again. I would highly recommend it. Excellent story, great direction, brilliant acting.

One scene in particular really moved me. It was when Harry, now blind, had just come out of hospital. On the drive home, Harry and Diego stopped to go for a walk on the beach while Judit agreed to meet them later. Leading up to that scene is quite depressing with Harry in despair at having lost his sight and his true love and Judit feeling dreadfully guilty and sorry for him. The feeling in the car is almost of hopelessness.

But when Judit returns to the beach to meet them, the scene that meets her has real hope in it. Diego is having a great time playing and running around, as are all the other people on the beach. But what is really striking is that Harry too seems very happy there and engrossed by everything that is going on. He is experiencing the beauty of his surroundings in a totally new way. Stripped of his sight, his other senses kick into overdrive and he experiences the whole thing through the rich array of feelings, smells and sounds going on all around him.

I am sure that Judit feels this and it gives her real hope for the future and lessens the weight on her shoulders. I think the director intended the audience to view it in the same way. The beauty of that scene brought tears to my eyes.

I would be interested to read what other people thought of this scene, and what their favourite scenes were.

[–] raguabros 15 years ago

My favorite scene was the most beautiful scene of the film, and it's when Harry and Diego are "watching" Ernesto Jr.'s "documentary" and there's a kiss scene. Then Diego says the last thing Lena felt in her life was his taste, and he puts his hands in the screen while the scene moves slowly... That particular moment, with his hand on the screen, was just moving and beautiful.

[–] jamie147 15 years ago

Yes great call - that was a very moving scene. Very poignant too as the moment on screen is the last few moments of her life and their time together.

[–] Michael Fargo 15 years ago

This was my favorite scene as well, since it's foreshadowed with Harry's delicate fingers reading braille...and of course with the woman who walked him across the street, touching her face and hair. But at the end the composition projected on the wall, and the longing.... Very powerful moment.

[–] enovalis 15 years ago

This was a great scene in a film full of great scenes, both in narrative and composition. How does Almodovar do it?

This beach scene was especially resonant to me because its joy comes from Judit calling him "Harry" for the first time. In the scene before, a doctor had mentioned that he refused to answer to the name Mateo. So the beach scene for me was a great scene of recognition and love. And joy.

Names. Rohmer, Melville. I've always wondered if they would have acknowledged someone calling them Schérer or Grumbach.

All great directors AND writers. And editors too. I love that Mateo Blanco was re-editing Girls and Suitcases by sound, by listening to see if it was off-key. I think the great Walter Murch said that if a film is great he can edit it just by listening to it. That Almodovar is a crafty one. Literally crafty. Bravo.

Cheers.

[–] loveantinoo 15 years ago

I would add another great moment, linked to that scene at the beach.

They are still in the car, going to the hostel.

- Mateo: Did you go to see Lena's mother in town?
- Judit: Yes
- Mateo: What did she say?
- Judit: She was very pleased with Ernesto for having taken care of everything.

And in that moment, Mateo, with a mix of rage and sadness, turns his head to the window, as if he were able to watch the landscape in order to fill the void of his dialogue... but he can't see anything, Almodovar gives us a black frame for 1 or 2 seconds. Darkness.
Close to that moment, Dieguito will yell "Look, mum, the sea!". Uncomfortable moment.