Review of Bad Education (2004) by Harry W — 23 Jun 2015

As with any film directed by Pedro Almodovar, Bad Education was a film worth seeing for the sake of the director's filmography.

The intro to Bad Education is very much like a Spanish pulp version of the intro to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho. What this immediately establishes is director Pedro Almodovar's keen eye for imagery which proves consistent throughout the film as anyone familiar with his works would expect. Iconic of Pedro Almodovar works, Bad Education has a fascinating sense of colour to it. Though everything is brightly lit and the characters all dress in colourful clothing, the film seems to be filtered by a slight touch of sepia which manages to illuminate everything about the props ,costumes and particularly the scenery which is lovely to behold particularly when the film makes use of . This manages to keep viewers draw into the story through consistent fascination with the visual style which is intriguing to see within the context of a film which is simply a drama at heart. Everything looks good in Bad Education, and things sound good as well thanks to the composition of Alberto Iglesias' musical score.

The musical score of the film is beautiful. It maintains an edge which delivers a sense of classical mysteriousness to the film, keeping the amosphere consistently intense from when it is first established within the intro. The music remains subtle as it is not excess in volume, but the slight rises in volume prove to be effective when the naturalistic manner of the drama means that there is little music in many of the prolonged periods of dialogue happening. Frankly, the story in Bad Education is not always the most interesting because it is more important for its characters than anything else and moves along at a rather slow pace without a perfect chronological structure, but no matter what happens there is always a sense of atmosphere brought on by the musical score and an appealing sense of colour captured by the beautiful cinematography.

Although many of the themes in Bad Education stem from edgy subject matter, the way that Pedro Almodovar approaches the material lets it naturally blend into the narrative. As a result, the extensive use of transgender characters like Zahara hardly define their existence. There is so much to the characters in the story, but the way the film treats the character Zahara more as a human being than a transgender figure is extremely admirable and something that more of cinema needs to promote as a means of progress. Pedro Almodovar once again proves that he is a great filmmaker due to the way he has such extensive respect for his characters above all else, and the screenplay that he contributes to the story as a means of supporting this notion is packed to the brim with dialogue that flows naturally from the mouths of the deeply written and intriguing characters. They are thrown into many situations throughout the story, and the slow pace may tend to dull things a little bit at some times. But ultimately, Bad Education is an intelligent film with a strong assortment of complicated characters whose on personalities and relationships with the people around them largely compensate for the fact that there is not all that much that actually happens in terms of narrative. Bad Education is not a film for everyone as it is a foreign language film in English speaking countries with a director who has a distinctive style, resulting in a slow story which is somewhat short on dynamics by a certain rationale. But those who can appreciate its artistic merits and unconventional nature will truly benefit from the experience that is viewing the film. I'll admit that it is far from perfect because by the end of the film I did not feel as if all that much had happened, and with the surplus of character plot points being the key source of story in the film there proved to be a lot of keeping up to do. But I value the experience of viewing Bad Education as another glimpse into the mind of Pedro Almodovar.

And since the man treates his characters with such respect, the performances of the cast are powerful.

Gael Garcia Bernal is truly wonderful in the lead role. Having just delivered a notable performance in the 2014 film Rosewater, it is great to go ten years back and see the actor working in his native Spanish cinema. What is impressive is the fact that he takes on the role of Zahara so naturally with natural flamboyance and dramatic flair with dedication so extensive that he bever steps out of the role or has to turn melodramatic. Gael Garcia Bernal is able to capture Zahara incredily well, but he also captures the alternative identities of Juan and Angel incredibly well. Gale Garcia Bernal's leading performance captures the complex psychology of multiple identities with instinctive dramatic talent both physically and internally, ensuring that the depth of the characters are all reached with sure brilliance.

Daniel Giminez Cacho is also brilliant. He feels to me like a Spanish combination between Jack Nicholson and Kelsey Grammar based on both the way he looks and his genuine approach to the darma. He is subtle in his line delivery, and yet his physical state is very intense isince his facial expressions suggest there to be something beneath the surface which keeps viewers engaged in an intention to find out what that may be. Daniel Giminez Cacho shares an intense chemistry with the other actors and has no problem bringing a strong sense of supporting drama to the narrative.

Fele Martinez also brings a sense of charm to his part.

So Bad Education is a slow film which doesn't have the most developed narrative, but with dedication to characters from both the cast and director Pedro Almodovar and an interesting visual style, it proves to be a fascinating experience.