The Age of Commercialism

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Coming from me, it's not a congratulation. As Allen, I think that Almodovar is a highly overrated director that is praised for his touch, his universe whereas his movies are tedious, boring, dull and above all, it's a cinema about high society empty of any social consciousness and famous for his beautiful actresses.Here, he deals with two of the worst themes that I can't stand when I watch a movie: first, it's about a movie production so it's the ground zero of filmmaking , the empty void of imagination. The director has just to put his camera and says that's my story! With the extra, you can see that the "imagined" director acts similarly as Almodavar himself.Next, it happens among the mighty: the jealous boyfriend is a very rich business man who has tied with the politics! This confirms Almodovar's lack of imagination as such a background is totally unbelievable or at least uninteresting. Who cares about their "f…ing" lives? Do they really think it's entertainment for us? Do they really want to show us what's they can do with power and money: well, I see that they mistake sexual harassment for love but it's not news anymore… And for those who thinks that Almdovar shoots hymns to women, I find that he only sees them as object, to be grasp and embrace like the movie's title!What's left? A cute Penélope whose effort to looks like the late Audrey Hepburn is successful. Few inspired cameras movement that reminds me of David Lynch as Almodovar plays with projected images. The movie is full of colors, makes a trip to Lanzarote but it's not enough. In conclusion, I notice that this movie is from 2009 at a time when Almodovar's country was in crisis with high level of unemployment, rise of poverty and contesting. To shoot such a movie when his fellows suffer is stupidity or provocation and surely a sign of decadent artist! It's like everything crumbles around him and he doesn't seem to care. A recommendation: Pedro, look at your people and you will find inspiration!

Well under normal circumstances I would never go to the cinema to watch a film that is called 'Broken Embraces' but I thought maybe it didn't translate that well from Spanish. I should have been warned. I couldn't help but feel that people flock in to watch such uninspired middle class boredom on the sole ground that Almodóvar did some decent film some time ago. In fact in my view he is the Spanish Woody Allen. Someone who is long past his sell by date but has no trouble getting his films financed because the producers know how inert the target audience of this mainstream art-house crap is. Everything about this film is sloppy and lacklustre. The script, the acting, the camera, the set design. Of course, in a desperate attempt to fill the resulting emptiness with meaning, the director falls back on referring to the history of film. Is there no law against it? Surely Rossellini deserves better than being abused for this kind of fun. Ever since Fellini's 8 1/2 we know that directors have run out of ideas when they start to make films about making films but while Fellini cleverly made a film about someone who had run out ideas, Almodovar tried to pretend, that he has still something to tell. And failed miserably.

Almodovar's latest film is one of his weakest ones in recent times. It has elements of his previous directorial brilliance, but it doesn't have the clarity and freshness of past scripts. The main reason of the film's failure is the superposition of two stories, past and present but related, which are barely linked narratively and poorly edited.I liked the dramatic romance of the past -the one on which Almodovar should have focused- in which we see, once more, his masterly at directly actors, and at creating classic personal and glamorous atmospheres and soundtracks.Penelope Cruz is always great under Almodovar's direction, a greatness that we rarely see in her Hollywood roles. She's believable as Lena, a hypocritical sexy and cheating rich wife. Ernesto, her rich and madly in love husband, is played by a terrific José Luis Gómez, who shines over everybody else in this movie. Blanca Portillo is OK as Judit, too. I did not like Lluis Homar as Mateo at all, as he seems to play always the same role.A detail that caught my attention in the scene in which Lena is going to leave Ernesto. The scene visually focus on Pe's beautiful red stilettos, but, hey, the shoes are a size bigger than they should be, so, when she walks you can see that. I thought that was an unforgivable mistake in a scene in which Pe's feet are the star.The dull pointless modern story is a bad counteract to the past story. It doesn't add anything to the film, really. A waste of time and of footage. It is silly, meaningless, superfluous and pretentious. In addition, the film opens with a sex scene that doesn't add anything to the character or to the movie, and that is not even daring or sexy at all.If Almodóvar had a little more humility and less conceit in recent years would see again the great director he is, with captivating provocative stories and exquisite productions. He seems to be getting lost in his own grandeur, unfortunately.

It took a couple of viewings for me to fully appreciate Broken Embraces. Almodovar unravels the complex tale of Harry Caine with unusual skill and nuance. A times sublime - especially the use of Penelope Cruz on silent film while her flesh and blood speaks the lines - and other times hilarious - the film within film, Girls and Suitcases - this movie never overextends itself, perfectly unveiling layer after layer. All the performances hit the mark, Blanca Portillo in particular. Lluis Homar manages to sell his role, despite the difficulty of playing blind and seeing. As usual with Almodovar, the cinematography is spell-bending. The El Golfo beach shots perfectly capturing the disorienting predicaments of the main characters.If you've already watched Broken Embraces, watch it again. And then again. It remains fresh and intriguing yet reveals more and more gems with each viewing.