Review of Broken Embraces (2009) by Hildie S — 09 Jun 2010

4: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, as I expected. Pedro Almodovar is a God. I can't quite imagine seeing another film of his worthy of less than 4 stars. The ending is pure genius and I have added it to my very short list of all-time favorite scenes.

I can't quite convey how many films I see that I could imagine ending a scene or multiple scenes prior to their actual ending. I always feel as if the director was simply not bold enough to end the film on the right note.

They carry on until the seemingly natural resolution. This is not the case here; the ending shocks, stuns, and overwhelms. It is magnificent and perfect. It's one of the most beautiful and powerful films about filmmaking out there, and I've seen many.

Almodovar's pictures are so bright and vibrant. They absolutely burst with life, to the point where one simply feels bowled over with the power of the images and sound. Kar-Wai and others may make better use of music, but Almodovar is probably number one in my book for sheer beauty and vivacity.

He is both subtle and painfully obvious. He is anything but subdued. I absolutely love it. This film made me think more than anything of the relationship I'm in that has taken a more serious turn of late.

I feel as if it's clarified my thoughts and given me greater courage to step off into the unknown. There aren't many directors out there that could do this. My standard line is that Kar Wai and Almodovar are my two favorite contemporary directors; this film certainly fits right in.

Seeing so many of Almodovar's cast from films past simply adds to the allure. It's rare that a director makes such a self referential film that still feels so fresh and new. The pictures power creeps up on you and surprises you in the end.

There are few, if any, directors out there that can touch one so effectively on an emotional, aesthetic, and intellectual level simultaneously. Brilliant. There should be a spot on the Best Picture list reserved for Almodovar every year (Eastwood too for that matter).

I always think it's funny when I see my old film professors from Columbia on the special features of films I love too. This has happened often with Insdorf on Kieslowski pictures, but this is the first time I've seen Pena on screen before.

They both have great taste, obviously.