Tattered Photographs. Broken Embraces.

Pictured: Penelope Cruz and Lluis Homar


It can now be established as fact that when Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar make a movie together, magic. happens. Ever since he bumped her up to leading lady status in Volver, for which she received her well-deserved first Oscar nomination, she has gotten a steady stream of quality English-language roles including those in Elegy and of course Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which the Academy showed her love. But Broken Embraces reaffirms that when speaking in her native tongue, especially under the masterful eye of Almodovar, Cruz is at her absolute best.

This is an Almodovar film for Almodovar fans, and I soaked up every minute of it. The biggest treat was realizing that Girls and Suitcases, a film within the film starring Penelope Cruz’s character, is in fact none other than the classic Almodovar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In fact, some actresses from the original film appear again, for example, Rossy de Palma who originally played Marisa, in this takes on the role of Lucia, who was originally played by Julieta Serrano. It also fulfilled a cinematic fantasy of mine, and evidently Almodovar’s, to see Cruz in the role helmed by his first muse Carmen Maura.

Obsessive Almodovar fangirl moment aside, Broken Embraces is one of his best yet. In the last few years he has truly matured the content of his films and is creating characters both engaging and relatable. While they aren’t the every-women of Volver, they are still experiencing emotional turmoil that anyone can understand. Like most of his films, Broken Embraces is nearly impossible to summarize, but here’s my best shot. A blind writer, Harry Caine (Lluis Homar), reflects on his former life as filmmaker Mateo Blanco and his tumultuous relationship with the bewitching Magdelena (Penelope Cruz). Magdelena stars in Mateo’s ultimately final film while sharing not only his bed, but that of much older business mogul Ernesto (Jose Luis Gomez). When Ernesto learns of his mistress’s love affair, he is driven mad with jealousy and soon begins a revenge plot that leaves its impact on every character’s life.

Cruz is ravishing as ever. In what may be her most nuanced performance, which is an odd thing to say considering how over-the-top Lena is as a character, a small twitch of the face says it all. For example, after a bout of lovemaking with Ernesto (and vomiting immediately thereafter out of disgust, poor thing) Lena returns from the bathroom to see his lifeless body on the bed. Assuming him dead, she lights a cigarette, and ever so slightly shrugs in resignation. However, that shrug speaks volumes and allows the audience to understand exactly how she feels.

With strong performances from Almodovar’s latest team of actors (including a particularly moving turn from Blanca Portillo as Mateo’s longtime agent and admirer) Broken Embraces draws you in its melodramatic grip and holds as tight as it can until the very last impeccably constructed frame. Almodovar proves once again that he is a maestro of all elements of cinema, from a deep and complex narrative that never once gets muddled to mis-en-scene that makes a painting out of every frame. Easily one of my favorites of the year.