I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I remember seeing the poster or DVD cover for this Spanish film, as I remembered the lead actor next to the woman with some kind of masking on her face, it definitely sounded intriguing from the description I read, directed by Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother, Volver, Talk to Her). Basically successful plastic surgeon Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) was cultivating an artificial skin resistant to burns and insect bites, but the board forbid him from continuing his research after it was discovered he had been conducting illegal transgenic experiments. At his secluded estate, Ledgard is keeping a beautiful young woman named Vera (Elena Anaya) captive, with the help of his servant Marilia (Marisa Paredes), following his suspension, he asks Marilia to dismiss the other servants. While Robert is out, Marilia's son Zeca (Roberto Álamo) has committed a robbery and asks his mother to hide him for a few days. He sees Vera on security camera screens and demands to see her, Marilia refuses to let him stay, so he blinds and gags her and then rapes Vera, Robert arrives and kills Zeca. While Robert disposes of Zeca's body, Marilia reveals to Vera that she is the both Zeca and Robert's mother, by different men, she never told them, Robert was adopted by Marilia's employers, but ultimately raised by her. In flashback, while Robert went to medical school and married a woman named Gal, Zeca lived in the streets and smuggled drugs, years later he returned, and he and Gal ran off together. They were involved in terrible a car crash which left Gal badly burnt, thereafter she lived in total darkness with no mirrors, it is when she accidentally catches her reflection in a window that she is traumatised by the sight of herself, Gal jumped to her death. In the present, Robert returns and spends the night with Vera. Robert dreams of a night six years ago at a wedding, where he finds his daughter Norma (Blanca Suárez) unconscious on the ground. Norma had been rendered mentally unstable and was taking medication for psychosis, after witnessing her mother's suicide, she comes to believe she has been raped, develops a fear of all men and spends eight years in a mental health facility, eventually killing herself in the same manner of her mother. Vera also dreams about the events of this night, where Vicente (Jan Cornet), a young man who works in the dress shop, crashed the wedding and meets Norma, he is under the influence of drugs, and walks with Norma in the garden. Norma starts removing her clothing, Vincente kisses and compliments her, he is on top of her, she suddenly starts repeating "no, no, no" and is screaming, she bites his hand, he is surprised and slaps her, knocking her unconscious, he runs away, confused and nervous, before Robert arrives. Robert tracks down Vicente, kidnaps him, and subjects him to sex reassignment surgery, over six years, Robert physically transforms Vincente into a replica of his late wife, and calls her Vera, during this time Vincente struggles to remain sane and cling to the core of his true identity. After being absent for four years, Marilia returned home to Robert's house to look after Vera (Vincente), who reveals to her that she has been held captive for the last six years. Back in the present, Marilia does not trust Vera, so she is dismayed after finding out about Robert's new relationship with her. Fulgencio (Eduard Fernández), one of Robert's colleagues, reads a newspaper article about the missing Vicente and recognises him as one of their sex change patients. Fulgencio accuses Robert of falsifying Vincente consent for a sex reassignment surgery and of experimenting on him, but Vera arrives to support Robert, asserting his willing participation. During the night, Robert and Vera try to have sex, but Vera tells him she is still sore after being raped, so suggests getting some lubricant, but comes back with a gun and kills Robert and Marilia. Freed from captivity, Vincente (Vera) returns to his mother's dress shop for the first time since being kidnapped. He tearfully tells his lesbian ex-colleague Cristina (Bárbara Lennie), whom Vincente loved six years ago, about the kidnapping, forced sex change and the murders, then his mother (Susi Sanchez) enters, and Vincente says quietly "I am Vincente". Banderas is a dangerously driven scientist but almost evokes some sympathy, Anaya is sultry and marvellously mysterious, it is a very similar feel to the French film Eyes without a Face, it definitely keeps you going with all the surreal and shocking twists and turns along the way, it is a perverse and provocative exploration of obsession, desire and identity, a strange but fascinating psychological thriller. It won the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!

It's my first Pedro Almodóvar's movie.i decided to watch other movies.İ have too much emotion while watching movie.That is power of movie.Most of users say acting is perfect especially Antonio Banderas(Robert).İ agree with them but beyond the acting the scenario is very well structured.

Look at a film. ANY film on IMDb. You'll find the first 50 revies drop names left and right. Theyll talk about when they worked for so and so. Theyll use words like "misunderstood genius" "masterpiece" etc. badly written hype. If you read the reviews of this film it OOZES with "hello i was paid/want a job/was given a job by x"... Please stop. It doesn't work and makes those of us with an iq over 12 not want to see your garbage. Ill watch a movie with "loved it .. hated it... blablabla" over "a generational masterpiece" every day. All day.

What exactly is plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Ledgard(Banderas, brilliant, obsessed) working on in the top-level facility in his home? And who is his subject?I haven't read the book, or watched much else by Almodóvar. This is about fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, identity, how do we define ourselves and who we are. Like a lot of genre fiction, this explores the things men do to women. To their bodies. Claiming to do it out of love. Even specifically of that girl. Then why do they fight through her protests? Even complain at them? Say she should be happy about it? Take advantage of her trusting nature? Justify, excuse, but not apologize for, what they're doing to them? "There's some sex in all violence, and vice versa", Cronenberg is quoted as saying in 2005. If not for when it came out, this film could easily be the main reason for him saying it.There's a huge exposition dump a quarter into this, with one bit after another of backstory. It's literally one person telling all this to another. The revelations are powerful, and couldn't have been done much smoother or such, but it does stop the pace dead for a little while. And almost halfway through, it jumps chronologically. I'm not sure it could have been done very differently. Still. It does have an effect. It's disorienting. A few story elements come off as sloppy and convenient, albeit they do clearly fit. Maybe one or two more drafts would have ironed out these problems.This has a lot of deeply disturbing content: not everyone will be able to handle the material. The running time is 115 and a half minutes with end credits, or 109 without. My DVD had no special features, only subtitles. I recommend it to any fan of horror-sci-fi. 8/10