 |
Observer-Reporter forum
Observer-Reporter discussion forums
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:03 am Post subject: 'Broken Embraces' |
 |
|
I really want to see this movie...Instead, I'm being dragged to see "New Moon" tonight bc that's what my friend wants to see and it's her birthday!  I admit that I thought "Twilight" was an ok movie, but I am not looking forward to being in a movie theater full of screaming teenagers!! 
| Quote: | 'Broken Embraces': The Very Picture Of Romance
Even if Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces weren't ravishingly shot and passionate about everything from filmmaking to passion itself, you'd still have to marvel at its formal ingenuity as a faux cine-a-clef about a film director and his muse — starring Almodovar's current muse, Penelope Cruz. Complex of plot, deft in its blending of comedy and melodrama, and a treasure trove of golden-age movie references, the film is what you might term a lushly tragic lark — a heartfelt, if not quite heartbreaking, paean to romance and to the romance of cinema.
The story centers on screenwriter-turned-director Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar) who, after an accidental blinding that ends his directing career, answers only to his screenwriting pen-name: Harry Caine. In flashbacks, we learn how Mateo encountered the love of his life, Lena (Cruz), when she was a wealthy industrialist's mistress, auditioning for a role in Mateo's first comedy, Chicas y Maletas (Girls and Suitcases). She's not remotely happy with the industrialist, so acting perhaps comes naturally to her. Anyway, Mateo sees a spark, and using a fresh face fits with his plans for a breakout from his earlier films.
So she gets the part, and her indulgent but jealous tycoon agrees to finance the film, while also employing his pathetic teenage son to make a behind-the-scenes documentary, so he can view dailies daily and keep an eye on Lena. During the shoot, the lad develops a crush on Mateo, Mateo falls for Lena, and complications ensue when the tycoon becomes violent and the violence finds its way into the comedy's script.
If that sounds complicated, rest assured I'm simplifying; the story of the film-within-a-film (and the filmmaking-about-filmmaking on the set of that film) is wrapped into a decade-later story featuring the now-blind Mateo/Harry, his protective longtime manager (Blanca Portillo) and her screenwriter-wannabe son (Tamar Novas), who reads and transcribes for Mateo when they're not collaborating on a nifty little vampires-running-a-bloodbank script. (Which sounds like exactly the sort of larky if less ambitious project Almodovar would have delighted in making a decade or so ago.)
Shot in vibrant hues — primary colors and geometric shapes for the film-within-a-film, darkly lurid washes for the rest — Broken Embraces begins with a rush of melodramatic incident, then slackens somewhat as the various storylines play out. Never less than engaging, the film nonetheless feels more thought-through than emotionally felt on occasion, especially once Mateo and Lena flee the close confines of movie sets and claustrophobic relationships to embark on a trek through Lanzarote, a breathtaking volcanic wasteland. The thrust gets lost in those wide-open spaces, as Almodovar's screenplay indulges in jokes — a cry of "Harry Caine, Harry Caine" on a particularly windswept beach, for instance — even as it's careening toward its emotional climax.
That said, there's plenty to savor along the way. Homar may not be the most charismatic of leading men (though he has a high old time using his character's blindness as a tool of seduction in the opening scene), but the other performances are showy and amusing. Cineastes will recognize scenes from Chicas y Maletas as riffs on Almodovar's own breakout comedy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and there are lots of other cinematic references — to Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, to films by Bunuel and Rossellini, to the look of the young Audrey Hepburn.
All of which keeps the cinematic pot boiling, as Cruz lends an alternatingly sparkling and sad-eyed radiance to a character whose compromises may have made her miserable in her own skin, but who is nonetheless alluring to all comers — whether she's involved in frantic dressing-room gropery, a near-tragic staircase tumble or the unremarkable but somehow tear-inducing act of slicing tomatoes. |
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120452447
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Brant
Admin
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 5277
Location: Hopewell Township
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
I'm with you. I'd much prefer to see the new Almodovar film. My wife is going with a friend to see the "Twilight" movie today. I will NOT be going along. A kick to the groin would be preferable to that.
_________________
The priests of the different religious sects dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight.
- Thomas Jefferson |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Brant wrote: | | I'm with you. I'd much prefer to see the new Almodovar film. My wife is going with a friend to see the "Twilight" movie today. I will NOT be going along. A kick to the groin would be preferable to that. |
That's exactly what my hubby said when I asked him if he wanted to go with us tonight!! I'm excited about the restaurant that we're going to before the movie though...Hopefully that'll save my night!!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cylinsier
Master
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 13229
Location: Oh shi-
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
The Twilight movies are a great illustration of the power of money to turn a mediocre book series into a mediocre movie series that nevertheless grows to blockbuster proportions because the filmmakers want it to.
_________________
The end is nigh! OR forums die APRIL 1. Don't lose contact! Join the forums at bogsource.com now! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cylinsier
Master
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 13229
Location: Oh shi-
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
BTW, if you want to see a GOOD vampire movie, see Let the Right One In.
_________________
The end is nigh! OR forums die APRIL 1. Don't lose contact! Join the forums at bogsource.com now! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:22 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Cylinsier wrote: | | BTW, if you want to see a GOOD vampire movie, see Let the Right One In. |
I saw it a couple of months ago!! It's the best vampire movie I've seen. I hear they're making an American version of it...I hope Hollywood doesn't ruin it!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brant
Admin
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 5277
Location: Hopewell Township
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have that in my Netflix queue. I'm more of a fan of zombie movies, like "28 Days Later," "Zombieland," "Shaun of the Dead" and the first two Romero movies.
_________________
The priests of the different religious sects dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight.
- Thomas Jefferson |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Brant wrote: | | I have that in my Netflix queue. I'm more of a fan of zombie movies, like "28 Days Later," "Zombieland," "Shaun of the Dead" and the first two Romero movies. |
I love "Shaun of the Dead"...I'm going to see "Zombieland" next weekend.
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brant
Admin
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 5277
Location: Hopewell Township
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I think you'll enjoy it. It's bloody good fun, and I do mean bloody. 
_________________
The priests of the different religious sects dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight.
- Thomas Jefferson |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cylinsier
Master
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 13229
Location: Oh shi-
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm looking forward to World War Z. Also, Diary of the Dead was very good and highly underrated.
_________________
The end is nigh! OR forums die APRIL 1. Don't lose contact! Join the forums at bogsource.com now! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cylinsier
Master
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 13229
Location: Oh shi-
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just read New Moon broke the record for largest pre-sale of movie tickets in history. I subsequently cried.
_________________
The end is nigh! OR forums die APRIL 1. Don't lose contact! Join the forums at bogsource.com now! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Cylinsier wrote: | | Just read New Moon broke the record for largest pre-sale of movie tickets in history. I subsequently cried. |
OH GOD!!! My friend did buy our tickets a couple of weeks ago bc it was selling out. I think I may have to bring earplugs tonight so that the squealing teenagers don't rapture my eardrums!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brant
Admin
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 5277
Location: Hopewell Township
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You might wish you'd been raptured.
_________________
The priests of the different religious sects dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight.
- Thomas Jefferson |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Brant wrote: | | You might wish you'd been raptured. |
LOL! I meant to say "rupture"!!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dick
Journeyman
Joined: 28 Jan 2009
Posts: 3134
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:35 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I heard Mr. Skin talking about how Penelope Cruz shows her cans several times in that "embraces" movie. Except he used a silly pun. I really dig that Mr. Skin.
I thought it was really weird that my mother inlaw was going with her friends to see Twilight at midnight... either tonight or last night. I suppose its not that strange if other adults are going to see it.
_________________
Proud Member NDA
Its okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings.
Puff. Puff. Give. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
