Ferrari (2023 film)

 

Based on the book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by Brock Yates, Ferrari is the film about the Italian car manufacturer during a moment in time when his company is facing bankruptcy while mourning the loss of his son and his wife discovering about an affair that yielded another son with an upcoming race being a make-or-break moment for the company. Directed by Michael Mann and screenplay by Troy Kennedy Martin, the film is about a year in Ferrari’s life as he deals with the chaos around him as well as a crumbling marriage as well as trying to save something he had built a decade ago with Adam Driver playing the role of Enzo Ferrari. Also starring Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, and Patrick Dempsey. Ferrari is a rapturous and gripping film by Michael Mann.

Set in the summer of 1957, the film revolves around a crucial period in the life of Italian car manufacturer Enzo Ferrari as he deals with his company going into bankruptcy with a race set to start as he also deals with trying to shield his wife over the fact that he has another child in his relationship with his mistress. It is a film that plays into a man who is trying to maintain some control in his life even though his relationship with his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) is crumbling even though she continues to handle the business end of their company where she would make a discovery about certain finances that have been kept from her. All this plays during a time where Ferrari and his team are trying to refine and perfect their Formula One car for the upcoming Mille Miglia race with the rival company Maserati trying to steal all the attention from Ferrari. The film’s screenplay by Troy Kennedy Martin, with additional work by Michael Mann and David Rayfiel, is straightforward in its narrative as it focuses on this summer of 1957 as it had been a decade since the founding of the company but also one year since the death of Enzo and Laura’s son Dino.

Throughout the film, Ferrari focuses on perfecting his car while he spends time with Laura for business as well as his mistress Lina Lida (Shailene Woodley) and their son Piero (Giuseppe Festinese) who lives in another house away from the city of Modena. The arrival of Spanish racer Alfonso de Portago (Gabriel Leone) would give Ferrari some new blood for his racing team that includes the veteran Piero Taruffi (Patrick Dempsey) and the British racer Peter Collins (Jack O’Connell) though Ferrari is uneasy over the fact that de Portago is dating actress Linda Christian (Sarah Gadon) as he believes that drivers accompanied by women are cursed. The film’s script also play into the drama in a brief flashback montage of Ferrari’s life with Laura early on with their son Dino but also how Ferrari saw Lina just in the aftermath of World War II as he met her during that time. It would play into this drama that would occur where Ferrari considers doing a partnership with either Fiat or Ford to resolve any of the financial matters while also making a deal with Laura over its future.

Mann’s direction is stylish in the way he opens the film with black-and-white stock footage with a young Ferrari driving his car in the race as it plays into a man who was a decent racer but knew a lot about cars. Shot on various locations in the city of Modena and Brescia as well as additional shots in Rome and parts of Northern Italy. Mann creates a film that plays into this crucial period just more than a decade after World War II ended as Ferrari is part of the reason for the post-war economic boom. Yet, Mann would infuse a lot of unique visuals to play into the drama as well as these intense moments during the driving scenes where Mann’s usage of the close-ups and the small details to locations and how fast a car was back in 1957 showcase a lot into what Ferrari wants as well as wanting to push the envelope of what can be done in racing. While there are some wide shots of the various locations including the scale of the races including Mille Miglia. Mann would emphasize close-ups and medium shots to play into the drama and the suspense in the film as it relates to Ferrari’s personal life such as Laura driving up to the home where Lida lives in as well as an opera scene that leads to a montage of flashbacks.

The racing scenes has Mann at his most meticulous where he plays into what the mechanics, engineers, and others do to ensure that not only the car works but also to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Even as the film’s third act that revolves around the Mille Miglia where Mann also goes into detail of the race itself as it is this open-road endurance race that goes on for a thousand miles throughout Italy. There is a key sequence in the film that does play into what happened at the race where it would have Ferrari face a lot of things over what had happened. It adds to the drama of a man that is trying to save his company where it would be Laura who would decide about what to do for the company but also in his personal life as it relates to Lida and Piero. Overall, Mann crafts an exhilarating and somber film about a period in the life of one of the greatest car manufacturers of the 20th Century.

Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for many of the daytime exterior scenes as well as some unique lighting schemes and textures for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Pietro Scalia does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts as well as some montages and allowing shots to linger to create some rhythmic cuts to add some intensity to the drama. Production designer Maria Djurkovic, with set decorator Sophie Phillips and supervising art director Stephan O. Gessler, does amazing work with the look of the home where the Ferraris live in as well as the villa that Lida and Piero live in and the raceway and factory that Ferrari works at. Costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini does fantastic work with the costumes in the suits that Ferrari wears as well as the stylish dresses that the women wear at that time.

Hair & makeup designer Aldo Signoretti does terrific work with the look of the characters from the hairstyle of Ferrari including how he and his wife looked more than a decade ago along with the look of Taruffi with his white-haired look. Special effects supervisor Uli Nefzer and visual effects supervisor David Sewell do superb work with the visual effects from the opening shots of the film to the car crash scenes in the film. Sound editors Tony Lamberti and Bernard Weisner, along with sound designer David Werntz, do incredible work with the sound in the way an engine sounds up close and from afar as well as the way crowds are heard and other sparse sounds as it is a major highlight of the film. The film’s music by Daniel Pemberton is wonderful for its mixture of orchestral bombast along with some somber themes to play into the drama with the rest of its soundtrack featuring the Italian pop music of the time as well as opera music and other score pieces from Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke.

The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Benedetto Benedetti as the Ferraris’ late son Dino, Gabriel Noto and Edoardo Beraldi as the younger versions of Dino from the flashbacks, Daniela Piperno as Ferrari’s mother who doesn’t like Laura, Jonathan Burteaux as King Hussein of Jordan who is at the Ferrari offices to buy a car, Ben Collins and Wyatt Carnell as a couple of Ferrari team drivers in Stirling Moss and Wolfgang von Trips respectively, Tommaso Basili as Fiat’s head Gianni Agnelli, Marino Franchitti as a Ferrari driver in Eugenio Castellotti, Valentina Belle as Castellotti’s girlfriend Cecilia Manzini, Giuseppe Bonifati as an executive at Ferrari, Domenico Fortunato as Maserati owner Adolfo Orsi, Lino Musella as car designer Sergio Scaglietti, Michele Savoia as engine designer Carlo Chiti, and Giuseppe Festinese as Ferrari and Lina Lida’s son Piero who begins to understand his identity while also interested in his father’s work as he would eventually become the vice chairman of Ferrari.

Sarah Gadon is fantastic in a small role as the actress Linda Christian who is also de Portago’s girlfriend at the time where she helps bring in some publicity but also a moment that would be remembered in infamy. Jack O’Connell is excellent as Peter Collins as the British driver who works for Ferrari as he is a skilled driver that prefers to keep his own personal life at a distance during racing season. Patrick Dempsey is brilliant as Piero Taruffi as a veteran driver who knows about what to do while also is an eccentric that likes to smoke while driving as Dempsey brings a lot of charm despite the awful hairdo he had to sport. Gabriel Leone is amazing as Alfonso de Portago as a Spanish driver who would join Ferrari as he is someone that knows how to beat the drivers at Maserati while is also determined to prove his worth despite having Christian around him. Shailene Woodley is incredible as Lina Lardi as Ferrari’s mistress whom he had met back in World War II as she is also the mother of their son Piero as she is concerned with her son being called Ferrari while also making sure that Enzo remains grounded despite not having met Laura.

Penelope Cruz is tremendous as Laura Ferrari as Enzo’s wife and business partner as she is a woman that manages and oversees all the business and financial transactions for the company while becomes unhinged over discovering some transactions she did not know about as it would lead to her discovery of Lina and Piero. Cruz’s performance is full of fire as a woman still consumed with grief over the loss of her son as it is a performance of immense intensity while also trying to figure out how to save the company where she would make a deal that would save the company but with a condition as it relates to her own life. Finally, there’s Adam Driver in a phenomenal performance as Enzo Ferrari as the car manufacturer who is dealing with a lot in his life while still reeling from the loss of his eldest son Dino a year ago as well as losing his own company. Driver’s performance displays a lot of nuances of a man that is trying to devote time to his other son but also his business as it is one of his finest performances of his career so far.

Ferrari is a sensational by Michael Mann that features great performances from Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, intoxicating visuals, immense sound work, and study of a man facing grief and impending loss of everything. It is a film that does not play by the rules of the bio-pic while also being a study of a man trying to maintain some control despite his back against the wall as he tries to salvage all that he has left. In the end, Ferrari is a spectacular film by Michael Mann.

Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile - Thief (1981 film) - The Keep - Manhunter - L.A. Takedown - The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) - Heat - The Insider - Ali - Collateral - Miami Vice - Public Enemies - Blackhat – (Heat 2)

Related: Ford v Ferrari - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann Pt.1 – Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2024

2021 Cannes Marathon: Pain & Glory

 

(Winner of the Best Actor Prize to Antonio Banderas and Best Soundtrack Award to Alberto Iglesias at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory) is the story of a filmmaker who reunites with old friends, family, and colleagues as he copes with a declining film career and ailing health. The film is a study of a man as he looks back at events from his life as well as the remaining years of his life. Starring Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, Cecilia Roth, and Penelope Cruz. Dolor y gloria is a majestically-rich and somber film from Pedro Almodovar.

The film revolves around a filmmaker at the twilight of his film career as he is coping with severe back pain as he learned that one of his older films has been restored where he reunites with an actor from that film while reflecting on his childhood. It’s a film that is a look into a man that is dealing with a lot as well as the fact that he is going through writer’s block, regrets, loss, and severe physical pain. Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay explores the life of filmmaker Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) as he receives word that one of his old films had been remastered and restored for a special screening where he bumps into an old friend who gives him the number and address of an actor from that film whom he hadn’t spoken to in more than 30 years. Upon his reunion with Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), the two discuss the past while Salvador tries heroin for the first time as it forces him to think about his time as a child (Asier Flores) where he and his mother Jacinta (Penelope Cruz) move into a cave house that his father bought.

It is where the young Salvador teaches a young laborer/draughtsman in Eduardo (Cesar Vicente) to read and write while he would later be sent to a school where he would learn a lot about art and cinema. Still, Salvador feels like he hasn’t done enough as it relates to his mother while he is also dealing with the severe physical pain that has him choking often at times where he uses heroin to cope with the pain. Another unlikely reunion in a former lover in Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia) would also force him to realize what is going on as he reflects on the last days with his mother (Julieta Serrano) before her passing while turning to his longtime assistant Mercedes (Nora Navas) for help as she believes something else isn’t right.

Almodovar’s direction does have its flair of style that he’s known for in his compositions yet it opens with Salvador in a pool as he’s underwater as it is this metaphorical image of a man that is believing he’s about to encounter his final days. Shot on location in Madrid as well as the province of Valencia with Paterna being a major location of the film as it plays into the life of the young Salvador. Almodovar’s compositions are largely straightforward yet he knows when to create something that is striking and evocative in a simple shot. Whether it’s in some of the wide shots of the Paterna exteriors or certain locations in Madrid to the more intimate shots at a small theater or Salvador’s apartment home with its medium shots and close-ups. Notably in the way he stages a one-man performance Alberto does where Federico watches as it play into this key moment for Salvador even though he doesn’t watch Alberto’s performance.

Almodovar’s direction would include these somber scenes that revolves around Salvador’s childhood that are presented with an intimacy in the cave home which is claustrophobic at times yet there is also a moment that also play into events that would affect Salvador’s sexuality as well his own sense of nostalgia as an adult. Almodovar would also infuse some voice-over narration from Salvador that includes an animation sequence by Juan Gatti that explores Salvador’s journey as a filmmaker and his fascination with science and geography that would inspire much of Salvador’s work. The film’s third act plays into Salvador’s faults as well as the realization that he’s been shielding himself from his past including his childhood along with his own desperation to rid the physical pain he’s enduring. Overall, Almodovar crafts an intoxicating and touching film about a filmmaker dealing with his past, regrets, and the twilight of his life and career.

Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine does brilliant work with the film’s lush and colorful cinematography with a naturalistic look for many of the film’s daytime scenes as well as the interior scenes at the cave-house along with some stylish lighting for some of the interior scenes set in Madrid. Editor Teresa Font does excellent work with the editing as it is stylized with its fast-cuts and montages for some parts while also being straightforward for much of the film in playing up the drama. Production designer Antxon Gomez, with set decorator Vicent Diaz and art director Maria Claria Notari, does amazing work with the look of the cave-house as well as Salvador’s apartment with so much attention to detail from his collection of paintings to his bedroom. Costume designer Paola Torres does fantastic work with the colorful clothes that the characters wear including a few stylish suits that Salvador wears to the ragged look of Alberto as well as the dresses the young Jacinta wears.

Makeup designer Ana Lozano does terrific work with the look of the characters from the bearded look of Salvador as well as the look of the older Jacinta. Sound designer Pelayo Gutierrez does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of some of the locations as well as how music is played on a boom box to maintain that sense of realism. The film’s music by Alberto Iglesias is incredible for its lush and rapturous orchestral score that play into some of the film’s melodrama as well as the air of nostalgia for the past as it is a major highlight of the film with a soundtrack that features folk and pop music of the time period that the characters live in.

The casting by Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from producer Augustin Almodovar as a priest, Luis Calero as the music teacher for young Salvador, the trio of Marisol Muriel, Paqui Horcajo, and the Spanish pop singer Rosalia as women washing clothes with the young Jacinta early in the film, Pedro Casablanc as Dr. Galindo who expresses concerns for Salvador’s health, Julian Lopez as a movie theater presenter wanting to interview Salvador and Alberto, Susi Sanchez as a family friend of Jacinta in Beata, Sara Sierra as a young village woman in Conchita, Raul Arevalo as Salvador’s father Venancio, and Cecilia Roth in a terrific one-scene performance as an old friend of Salvador in Zulema who gives him Alberto’s address.

Cesar Vicente is superb as a young laborer/painter in Eduardo whom the young Salvador teaches to read and writer as he is proven to be a gifted painter that helps the young Salvador and young Jacinta. Asier Flores is fantastic as the young Salvador as a young boy who is fascinated by cinema and books while is unsure about going to this prestigious school fearing he would never see his family again. Nora Navas is excellent as Salvador’s personal assistant Mercedes as a woman who is aware of Salvador’s ailing health and growing depression as she does what she can to help him but also aware of what is the cause of his physical pain. Penelope Cruz and Julieta Serrano are amazing in their respective performances as the younger and older versions of Salvador’s mother Jacinta with Cruz providing this sense of warmth expected in a maternal role but also frustrations over her new living situation and what her son wants. Serrano’s performance as the older version of Jacinta is more restrained as a woman just frustrated that she is on her way out as she also laments over Salvador’s choices in life and in his career while maintaining that maternal warmth.

Leonardo Sbaraglia is brilliant as an old lover of Salvador in Federico as a man from Salvador’s past who makes a brief visit to Madrid from Buenos Aires as he watches Alberto’s one-man show that prompts him to visit Salvador where they reminisce the past. Asier Etxeandia is incredible as Alberto Crespo as an actor who worked with Salvador in their greatest collaboration together as he hadn’t seen Alberto in more than 30 years where they re-establish their friendship and talk about past issues Etxeandia provides a charisma and charm to a man that is an admitted heroin addict but also a man of control. Finally, there’s Antonio Banderas in a tremendous performance as Salvador Mallo as a once-revered filmmaker who is at the twilight of his career as he deals with immense physical and emotional pain as he thinks about his past as well as the idea that he might not have much time left. Banderas also provides this physicality in the way he struggles in getting out of a car or to express the physical pain he’s in as it is this performance full of restraint and dark humor as he showcases a man struggling with himself as well as trying to find some hope in the end as it is a performance for the ages.

Dolor y gloria is a magnificent film from Pedro Almodovar featuring a phenomenal leading performance from Antonio Banderas. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, ravishing visuals, somber themes of nostalgia and uncertainty, and a luscious music score by Alberto Iglesias. The film isn’t just this fascinating story of an artist dealing with the possible end of his life and career but also reflecting on his roots and the events that shaped his life. In the end, Dolor y gloria is an outstanding film from Pedro Almodovar.

Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) – (Parallel Mothers)

The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar: Pt. 1 Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2021

To Rome with Love

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, To Rome with Love is a multi-layered film with four different stories about people living or vacationing in Rome, Italy. Among these stories include a funeral director who unknowingly has singing talent, a man who becomes a celebrity for mysterious reasons, a couple on their honeymoon, and an architect who guides a young man into the world of love. All of which play into the fascination of the city. Also starring Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig, Judy Davis, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Ornella Muti, and Penelope Cruz. To Rome with Love is an interesting but very lackluster film from Woody Allen.

The film revolves around four different stories all set in the city of Rome as it plays to the desires of various people and how it can be a bit overwhelming as well as the realization that not everything is as it’s cracked up to be. One story involves a revered architect (Alec Baldwin) who meets a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) who is living in the old apartment the architect lived as a student as he observes the young man’s obsession with a neurotic actress (Ellen Page). The second story is about an American woman who meets and falls for an Italian man as they announced their engagement where the woman’s father learns that his future son-in-law’s father has a gift for singing opera. The third story revolves around an ordinary business clerk (Roberto Benigni) who suddenly becomes a celebrity as he’s baffled by his new fame. The fourth and final story is about a couple who come to Rome for their honeymoon where the bride is suddenly lost in the city forcing the groom to hire a hooker (Penelope Cruz) to pretend to be his wife for his relatives.

While Woody Allen creates a very interesting concept that revolves around these four different stories that sort of cross-cuts from one another. The result as a whole is very messy. There’s parts in some of these stories that are funny and exciting but there’s also moments where it kind of drags and such that sort of loses steam. The story about the funeral director who only sings in the shower is quite interesting as it has a lot of humor which includes Allen playing the American girl’s father but the humor loses steam late in the story. The story about the architect guiding this young man about his love life is very troubled due to the writing where it becomes unclear where the architect is real or he’s just acting as a Greek chorus.

The story about this business clerk’s sudden new fame is also funny but it gets ridiculous as it goes on where some of the humor is forced. The segment about the newlywed couple who each venture into different journeys in Rome where the groom unexpectedly has a hooker hang out with his rich relatives while the bride spends time with a film actor is definitely the best of the four. All of these all play into people being fascinated by the riches and cultures of Rome yet it would all play to the idea that not everyone can endure all of these wonders as some just prefer something much simpler.

Allen’s direction is quite unique in the way he presents Rome as he makes it a major character in the film. Yet, it starts off with a very beautiful montage of cars driving through the streets of Rome where the camera stops on this traffic policeman (Pierluigi Marchionne) who comments about the wonders of Rome. Allen does create some dazzling compositions that plays to the beauty of the city as well as some moments where he wanted to keep things naturally funny. Yet, the script’s drawbacks does drag the story where Allen has a hard time keeping up with the momentum of some of the humor where some of it feels forced and unfocused. While the segment about the funeral director who can sing opera has some very spectacular moments including the staging of his operas where sings in a shower. It doesn’t do enough to make the film more engaging than it needs to be despite some of the moments in the newlywed couple segment. Overall Allen creates a very incoherent and underwhelming film about life in Rome.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography as it is filled with some gorgeous images of the city in the day and night as well as some of the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Alisa Lepselter does nice work with the editing in creating some lively montages while playing up to the film‘s unique narrative structure with some very inspired transitions. Production designer Anne Seibel, with set decorator Raffaella Giovannetti and art director Luca Trachino, does excellent work with the set pieces from the hotels and homes the characters stay at to the staging of the operas.

Costume designer Sonia Grande does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with the exception of the red dress Cruz‘s hooker character wears. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to play up some of the atmosphere of the locations including the sound of the funeral director singing in the shower at his home. The film’s wonderful soundtrack is filled with a lot of different blend of music ranging from jazz, classical, opera, and some Italian pop tunes that include various renditions of Volare.

The casting by Juliet Taylor, Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto, and Beatrice Kruger is amazing for the ensemble that is created for this film as it includes some small appearances from Riccardo Scamarcio as a hotel thief who tries to rob a movie star, Ornella Muti as a famous Italian actress, Antonio Albanese as the revered actor Luca whom the newlywed bride Milly is charmed by, Cecilia Capriotti as a sexy secretary who sleeps with Leopoldo over his fame, Monica Nappo as Leopoldo’s very simple wife, Lino Guanciale as a man Jack tries to set Monica up that would fuel his jealousy, famed Roman newscaster Cristiana Palazzoni as herself, and Pierluigi Marchionne playing himself as a charming traffic policeman. In the singing funeral director segment, Fabio Armiliato is great as Giancarlo as a simple funeral director with a great tenor voice who is reluctant to become an opera singer.

Flavio Parenti is terrific as Giancarlo’s son Michelangelo as is Alison Pill as Michelangelo’s American fiancee Hayley who tries to defend her father for what he wants to do. Judy Davis is pretty good as Hayley’s mother despite the fact that her character doesn’t get to do much while Woody Allen is funny as Hayley’s father who tries to launch Giancarlo’s career much to the chagrin of Michelangelo. Alec Baldwin is excellent as the revered architect who observes Jack’s fascination with Monica while giving Jack advice on what not to do. Jesse Eisenberg is quite fine as Jack as a young architect who falls for Monica. Greta Gerwig is alright as Jack’s girlfriend Sally though is quite underused while Ellen Page has her moments as Monica though the script doesn’t allow her to make her character more interesting as she’s just this neurotic actress who is kind of a poser.

Roberto Benigni is superb as a clerk who deals with his newfound celebrity where Benigni brings a lot of humor to his role as a man baffled by this new sense of fame. Alessandro Tiberi and Alessandra Mastronardi are wonderful as the newlywed couple Antonio and Milly who both take on unexpected journeys into Rome. Finally, there’s Penelope Cruz in a remarkable performance as the prostitute Anna who pretends to be Antonio’s wife while giving him advice on love and such as it’s a very lively performance from Cruz.

To Rome with Love is a very messy and often incoherent film from Woody Allen despite the beauty of its location and some funny moments from some of its cast including Roberto Benigni and Penelope Cruz. While it is definitely a lesser film from Allen, there are moments that showcase that he still has a few things to say no matter how overbearing it can be. In the end, To Rome with Love is a disappointing film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows and Fog - Husbands and Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Bullets Over Broadway - Don't Drink the Water - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet and Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra's Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

I'm So Excited!

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Los amantes pasajeros (I’m So Excited!) is about a group of passengers boarding a flight to Mexico where lots of mayhem ensues during the course of the flight. The film marks a return of sorts to the earlier comedies that Almodovar did in the early 80s after a near-long decade focusing on dramas and suspense films. Starring Javier Camara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Duenos, Raul Arevalo, Blanca Suarez, and special appearances from Almodovar regulars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz. Los amantes pasajeros is a witty yet wild comedy from Pedro Almodovar.

The film revolves around a flight from Madrid to Mexico where something has gone wrong with the landing gear as the plane is looking for a place to land. With the economy class passengers all asleep due to the sedatives that are given, only the pilots, the first-class stewards, and a small number of first-class passengers are aware of the situation as they drink Valencia cocktails with mescaline, endure all sorts of craziness, and tell their own stories while being entertained by the stewards. It’s a film that plays into a world in which stewards, passengers, and pilots deal with themselves as they’re not sure if they will survive.

Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay explores the dynamics of these characters as it includes a bisexual pilot, his sexually-confused co-pilot, three gay stewards, an engaged couple, a TV actor, a famed erotic actress, a securities officer, a virginal psychic, and a bank manager dealing with the financial collapse of his own bank and an airport. All of them are all dealing with issues of their own as the story has a structure that plays into a span of few hours where the characters are dealing with situation about the plane. Some have to use the public phone to call loved ones while others finally face the truths of their own situations and why they’re fleeing to Mexico. It all plays to Almodovar’s approach to humor where these characters all try to handle the situation as everyone starts to loosen up and such while waiting to see where to land.

Almodovar’s direction is very stylized but also intimate as the film is mostly set in an airplane that includes a hilarious dance sequence to the title song by the Pointer Sisters. With some stylish compositions and the use of the widescreen, Almodovar gets the chance to create an intimacy while having the frame fill out inside the plane. Even as he incorporates many silly situations and dialogue about sex and such in the course of the film. While there’s some scenes outside of the plane that involves some minor characters related to the main characters, it would play to some of the drama as well as the humor. While the humor is subtle and the drama low-key, Almodovar still crafts a very entertaining comedy about life in an airplane.

Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine does fantastic work with the cinematography from the exteriors set in some of the locations to the more low-key yet colorful scenes inside the plane. Editor Jose Salcedo does excellent work with the editing to play up some of its humor as well as a few stylish jump-cuts for a sequence involving the Valencia cocktail. Production designer Antxon Gomez, with set decorator Maria Clara Notari and art director Federico Garcia Cambero, does amazing work with the look of the airplane from the look of the economy class to the more spacious look of the first class section.

Costume designers David Deflin and Tatiana Hernandez do fabulous work with the costumes from the colorful dresses the women wear to the steward uniforms. Visual effects supervisor Eduardo Diaz does nice work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects that involve a few scenes shot outside of the airplane. Sound editor Pelayo Gutierrez does terrific work with the sound to play up the atmosphere of the plane including some of the sounds that occur inside. The film’s music by Alberto Iglesias is brilliant as it mostly an orchestral score that is playful at times but also quite somber while its soundtrack includes a rhythmic take on Fur Elise as well as a few pop tunes including the title song by Pointer Sisters.

The casting by Luis San Narciso is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Almodovar regulars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz as two airport employees in the beginning of the film as well as Paz Vega as a mentally-ill lover of the TV actor, Blanca Suarez as a former flame of that actor, Miguel Angel Silvestre and Laya Marti as a newlywed couple, and Agustin Almodovar as an air traffic controller. Guillermo Toledo is excellent as the TV actor Ricardo Galan who is dealing with his own issues with a troubled girlfriend while Jose Maria Yazpik is superb as the security officer Infante who has a crush on the aging actress Norma Boss. Jose Luis Torrijo is terrific as the troubled Sr. Mas as a man trying to run from the law while admitting to his own personal issues.

Raul Alveros and Carlos Areces are hilarious in their respective roles as the gay stewards Ulloa and Fajardo as they bring a lot of camp to the film. Javier Camara is amazing as the lead steward Joserra as a man dealing with relationship issues with one of the co-pilots while trying to get everything under control. Antonio de la Torre and Hugo Silva are brilliant in their respective roles as the bisexual pilot Alex Acero and the sexually-confused co-pilot Benito. Lola Duenos is wonderful as the virginal psychic Bruna who says strange things and is eager to lose her virginity while Cecilia Roth is fabulous as Norma Boss as a former erotic film actress who has a hard time dealing with the chaos of the plane while revealing about her own secrets of her life.

Los amantes pasajeros is a very delightful film from Pedro Almodovar. While it’s a pretty light-hearted film that might be considered a minor film from the famed filmmaker. It’s still one that is full of joy and laughs while just playing around a bit without taking things to seriously with some help from his cast and crew. In the end, Los amantes pasajeros is a stellar yet exciting film from Pedro Almodovar.

Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)

The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2013

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/17/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona tells the story of two women named Vicky and Cristina as they take a vacation in Barcelona before Vicky is to be married. The two women meet an artist named Juan Antonio as Cristina embarks an affair with him while Vicky also falls for him. Yet, the affair becomes troubling when Juan Antonio's volatile ex-wife Maria Elena shows up as everything becomes complicated. The film is Allen paying tribute to Spain and all of its beauty. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Kevin Dunn, Chris Messina, and Patricia Clarkson. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a witty, sexy, sensational comedy-drama from Woody Allen and company.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are on a summer vacation in Barcelona as Vicky is set to be married to a man named Doug (Chris Messina) while finishing her thesis on Catalonia culture. Cristina meanwhile, is interested in having a good time as the two girls live with friends of Vicky's parents in Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband Mark (Kevin Dunn). The two young women explore the city of Barcelona where during an art gallery, they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) as they meet him again at a restaurant where he invites them to a small town called Oviedo for a good time. The free-spirited Cristina is excited though the more conservative Vicky is unsure as she reluctantly joins along to keep Cristina company.

The trio have a good time in Oviedo as during a night of drinking, Juan Antonio wants to sleep with them as Vicky refuses but Cristina wants to be seduced by the artist. Instead, Cristina gets sick as Vicky goes sightseeing with Juan Antonio as an attraction starts leading to the two making love. Vicky chose to keep the affair quiet on their return to Barcelona where Doug makes an announcement that he wants to marry Vicky in Barcelona. Doug arrives to Barcelona from New York as he and Vicky get married while Juan Antonio begins an affair with Cristina. Just as Juan Antonio's affair with Cristina blossoms, he gets news that his volatile ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) has attempted suicide as he brought her to his home so she can recover for a few months.

Cristina learns of Maria Elena's volatile behavior that's often melodramatic as Juan Antonio's ex-wife is skeptical about Cristina's intentions for Juan Antonio. While Juan Antonio admits to still be in love with Maria Elena, he also loves Cristina as the trio try to make a threesome where Maria Elena helps Cristina's artistic pursuits in photography. The affair begins to go well while Vicky's marriage life isn't what Vicky had expected to be. Even as she learns that Judy is unhappy in her own marriage to Mark. With the summer coming to an end, Cristina ponders her own role in the affair as well as her own identity while Vicky ponders her own feelings for Juan Antonio. Yet, the old tension between Maria Elena and Juan Antonio starts to rise again with the summer ending.

Changing locations from London to Barcelona, Woody Allen explores the world of sex and Spanish culture in this story of a bizarre yet passionate love affair revolving around two American women and a Spanish couple. What the film is really about is love and all of its anxieties. Vicky is a traditionalist who is not about risk until an affair with Juan Antonio makes her question about her feelings for Juan Antonio and her marriage to Doug. Cristina is a free-spirit who often goes from one phase to another as her threesome with Juan Antonio and Maria Elena makes her question whether she does have limits. Then there's Juan Antonio and Maria Elena, two passionate artists and lovers who are meant and not meant for each other as Juan Antonio is charming and lively while Maria Elena is more chaotic and skeptical.

While Allen creates great situations and characters for the story, he also uses a voice-over narration device by Christopher Evan Welch that does advance the plot but at times, it is very nagging and distracting. It's the one part of the film that works and doesn't work though a better approach for Allen is if he used the narration in Spanish. Allen's direction is very potent with great shots and locations for Barcelona in all of its glory. Notably the structures and artwork of Gaudi as Allen takes a tourist approach of sorts into exploring Barcelona.

A lot of Allen's camera work with close-ups, hand-held shots, and lots of unique compositions is wonderful as despite a few things that don't work. There's also shots and scenes where Allen once again pays tributes to one of his favorite directors. This time, it's Francois Truffaut and his classic 1961 film Jules & Jim in relation to the love-triangle of Cristina, Juan Antonio, and Maria Elena. The result of what Woody Allen does is prove that despite some of his recent misses, he’s still got some magic left in him.

Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe does an excellent job with the film's cinematography with colorful shots of the Spanish countryside with wonderful exterior shots of Barcelona. The interior shots are wonderfully lit to convey the Spanish look as Aguirresarobe's work is truly wonderful. Longtime editor Alisa Lepselter does excellent work in the editing that is very stylized with jump-cuts and freeze frames to convey Cristina's picture taking, notably of the Maria Elena character. Production designer Alain Bainee and art director Inigo Navarro do great work in the posh look of Judy's home while the more homely, artsy look of Juan Antonio's home is great with paintings and such.

Costume designer Sonia Grande does an excellent job in the costumes to help convey the city's colorful look with slender, contemporary clothing to match with the city's vibrancy. Sound editor Robert Hein does fine work in the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the town and one notable scene that’s very dramatic involving Maria Elena. The music is mostly driven by Spanish guitar ballads and a song about Barcelona for the opening and closing credits.

The casting by Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto and Juliet Taylor is superb for the most part with small yet memorable performances from the likes of Zak Orth and Carrie Preston as friends of Doug, Pablo Schreiber as a classmate of Vicky, and Josep Maria Domenech as Juan Antonio's father, who has some memorable one-liners. Chris Messina is good and funny as Vicky's dull yet snotty husband Doug while noted character actor Kevin Dunn is also good as Judy's husband Mark. Patricia Clarkson is excellent in her small yet memorable role as Judy, a woman dealing with the state of her marriage as she watch Vicky being unhappy in her marriage. Clarkson's performance is one that should be noted as the veteran actress once again stands out among her cast, not matter how small the role is.

Though the character of Cristina is an interesting one, Scarlett Johansson's performance doesn't exactly deliver. While Johansson's sexiness is key to the character, it's one audiences have seen before and the results is very bland. While blame can go to Allen for not really doing anything new with her, Johansson takes most of the fault for the fact that she plays the character one note where she is often being out-acted by her fellow actors. Johansson's co-star from The Prestige in Rebecca Hall is remarkable as Vicky. The British actress is playing the Woody Allen character as a neurotic traditionalist who finds herself falling in love with Juan Antonio as she ponders about the risks she takes. Yet, there's a sadness to Hall's performance as she plays a woman confused about her role and yearning for happiness.

Javier Bardem is great as the seductive charmer Juan Antonio as Bardem's subtle yet mesmerizing performance is one of his finest roles. A complete opposite to his chilling performance as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, Bardem plays a lively romantic who wants to give Vicky and Cristina a good time while dealing with his volatile ex-wife Maria Elena. The film's best and certainly the most unforgettable performance is Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena. Cruz's performance can be described as a firecracker where audiences don’t know what Cruz will do as she delves into melodrama while often having mean looks towards Johansson. Cruz's presence is also great where the camera obviously loves her while her scenes with Bardem are brilliant as the two have amazing chemistry. Though it's no surprise that they've worked together in a couple of films while are rumored to be dating at the moment.

While it doesn't match the heights of recent films like Melinda & Melinda and Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is still a witty, entertaining film from Woody Allen. With superb work from Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, and Patricia Clarkson along with the beautiful location of Barcelona. While fans, old and new, might enjoy Allen's witty tale of love and all of its anxieties, the film does prove that Woody Allen still has some interesting stories left to tell. At the same time, it should be best that Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson should part ways for good since it's doing neither for them. In the end, for a film with beautiful locations and stellar performances from some of the film's cast. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a film worth seeking proving that Woody Allen still has it.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah and Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra's Dream - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011

Open Your Eyes

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar and written by Amenabar and Mateo Gil, Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) is the story of a young playboy whose life changes following a car crash that leaves his face disfigured. After falling for his best friend’s girlfriend, he is questioned by a psychiatrist as he starts to have trouble distinguishing real life and the dreams that he’s been having. The film serves as Amenabar’s international breakthrough as it would mark him as a new voice in Spanish cinema. Starring Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Najwa Nimri, Fele Martinez, and Chete Lera. Abre los Ojos is an enchanting yet surreal film from Alejandro Amenabar.

After a near-fatal car accident that left his face disfigured and being questioned for murder, a young rich playboy named Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) is examined by a psychiatrist named Antonio (Chete Lera). Cesar recounts his life as a young playboy who often sleeps with different women as he just scored in his latest conquest in a woman named Nuria (Najwa Nimri). With a birthday celebration coming as a party is held for Cesar, his best friend Pelayo (Fele Martinez) arrives with his new girlfriend Sofia (Penelope Cruz) as Cesar is amazed by her. Despite dealing with Nuria’s presence, Cesar finds himself attracted to Sofia as the two have a conversation about things as she takes him to her apartment. After a fun night where Cesar didn’t actually sleep with a woman, Nuria waits for Cesar as she drives him home where Nuria’s behavior leads to a horrifying incident.

With Cesar disfigured, his life is in shambles as he talks to Antonio about the despair he went through as all the surgeries he had didn’t work. Still, Sofia and Pelayo try to help him as he is convinced that his life ends. Yet, something happens as a revolutionary surgery has arrived fixing Cesar’s face as he manages to re-connect with Sofia as the two have a romance. Then, reality starts to blur as he sees Nuria claiming to be Sofia as Cesar has no idea what is going on. After meeting a man named Duvernois (Gerard Barray) who claims that Cesar is just dreaming, Cesar refuses to believe him as things become more complicated as Antonio asks about the dream Cesar keeps having. Cesar realizes that it all has to do with all of the things that are happening him as he confronts what is blurring his idea of reality.

The film is about a young man’s life that changes following an accident as his perception of reality starts to blur as he’s dealing with dreams in his head as he’s talking to a psychiatrist. During this journey, he starts to fall for a beautiful young woman who is his best friend’s new girlfriend. While she’s not like any of the women that this young man has been with, she comes in at a time where his life is going to change but in the wrong way due to a jealous lover. Due to his despair, he sleeps into a drunken state and wakes up where things change as it adds to his own confusion about what is real and what is a dream.

Alejandro Amenabar and co-writer Mateo Gil create a film where it’s all about the idea of what dreams can do but also how they can play with reality. At the same time, it’s a character study set into a world of surrealism as Amenabar and Gil delve into what this man is going through. During the course of the film, there is a story involving cryogenic freezing from a man who talks about it as it would later become something bigger in the third act. Meanwhile, Cesar goes through this journey where he has to deal with being disfigured and then have his face back but things don’t seem perfect as it seems. The script is a mesh of various genres with a center on this man’s ordeal as he talks to a psychiatrist that is trying to piece everything together.

Amenabar’s direction is truly engaging in the way he presents the film as he goes for style a lot of the composition he brings in as it’s shot on location in Madrid and in a full-frame format. Still, he allows the film to have a wide depth of field for several shots of Madrid as some of the early dream-like sequences features a city that is truly empty. Amenabar always keeps the camera moving to maintain that surreal-like state along with a few visual effects shots to play up Cesar’s perception of reality.

At the same time, there’s some wonderful intimate moments in scenes between Cesar and Sofia where Amenabar keeps the presentation simple. Yet, the way he approaches the more intense, dramatic moments as well as the big moments such as the ending shows ambition no matter what he has to use for a film like this. Overall, this is truly a stunning yet magnificent film from Amenabar.

Cinematographer Hans Burman does an excellent job with the film‘s photography from the colorful yet entrancing look of the nightclub scene to the broad yet beautiful daytime scenes in the park where Cesar recalls a dream to Sofia that she‘s in. Editor Maria Elena Sainz de Rozas does a great job with the editing by creating a tight yet methodical approach to the pacing while using straight cuts to black and jump-cuts to play up some of the film’s suspenseful moments.

Art director Wolfgang Burmann, along with set decorators Carola Angulo and Ramon Moya, does a nice job with the set pieces created such as the room where Cesar and Antonio as well as the differing apartments that Cesar and Sofia live in. Costume designer Conha Solera does a very good job with the costumes to exemplify the personalities of the characters from the posh/casual clothes of Cesar to the stylish clothes that Sofia wears. Makeup designer Paca Almenara does an amazing job with the makeup for Cesar‘s disfigured face which plays up the trouble emotions of Cesar. Sound designers Daniel Goldstein and Ricardo Steinberg do a fantastic job with the sound to capture the sparse texture of empty Madrid and other intimate moments to more layered work in crowd-driven scenes.

The film’s score by director Alejandro Amenabar and Mariano Marin is superb for its orchestral score filled with heavy arrangements for the suspenseful pieces as well as more low-key somber cuts for the light-dramatic moments. The film’s soundtrack also includes an array of alt-rock cuts and some electronic pieces by acts like Massive Attack and Sneaker Pimps for the club scenes that is prevalent in the film as the overall music work is great.

The film’s terrific cast includes an appearance from Jorge de Juan as an executive late in the film as well as Gerard Barray as the mysterious man that appears on the TV that Cesar later meets at a club. Najwa Nimri is excellent as the sexy yet mysterious Nuria who confronts Cesar about his womanizing while playing mind games with him. Fele Martinez is very good as Cesar’s friend Pelayo who tries to deal with Cesar’s interest towards Sofia. Chete Lera is superb as Antonio, Cesar’s psychiatrist who tries to figure out his mood and the dreams that he’s been having as it’s a very brazen yet charismatic performance.

Eduardo Noriega is great as Cesar, the young playboy whose life is shattered by an accident as he seems to try and figure out what to do only to have trouble in distinguishing reality and fiction. It’s a very complex yet exhilarating performance from Noriega who starts off as charming and a bit un-likeable only to wear makeup for his disfigurement and to convey the despair that he’s going through in this amazing performance. Finally, there’s Penelope Cruz in a radiant performance as Sofia as Cruz brings a wonderful sense of charm and wit to her character. Notably in a scene where she does mime work that is just amazing to watch while she has some great chemistry with Noriega for the way they talk and react to each other in a very naturalistic, relaxed approach as it’s one Cruz’s finest performances.

Abre los Ojos is a spectacular yet mind-bending film from Alejandro Amenabar that features brilliant performances from Eduardo Noriega and Penelope Cruz. For anyone that is interested in the works of Amenabar should definitely check this out as it’s also one of the most daring and ambitious sci-fi dramas of the 1990s. The film is also worth seeking out for those that had seen Cameron Crowe’s 2001 remake Vanilla Sky to see what Crowe expanded on as it also featured Cruz in the same role. In the end, Abre los Ojos is a thrilling yet hypnotic film from Alejandro Amenabar.

Alejandro Amenabar Films: Thesis - The Others - The Sea Inside - Agora - Regression - The Auteurs #51: Alejandro Amenabar

© thevoid99 2011

2011 Cannes Film Festival Marathon: Broken Embraces

(Premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in Competition for the Palme D’or)

2006’s Volver was a massive hit for Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar as it won the director various prizes including a Best Screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival while his ensemble of female actresses including longtime collaborator Penelope Cruz won the Best Actress prize at the festival. Even as Cruz received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress proving that Almdovar is still on top. Following a break, Almodovar re-teamed with Penelope Cruz for their fourth collaboration for a multi-layered project about love and its complications set in a noir setting entitled Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces).

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Los Abrazos Rotos is a multi-layered film set into three different years about a blind writer reflecting on his years as a film director when he fell for a woman whose husband is a powerful businessman. A film that meshes film noir along with elements of mystery and Almodovar’s own brand of humor. It’s a film where Almodovar plays with genres where he pays tributes to 1950s American film noir while also having fun with his own work. Also starring Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Tamar Novas, Ruben Ochandiano, Jose Luis Gomez, and appearances from Almodovar regulars Angela Molina, Rossy Palma, Lola Duenos, and Chus Lampreave. Los Abrazos Rotos is a stylish yet hypnotic film from Pedro Almodovar.

Once a great filmmaker until he turned blind, Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar) has been living his life as a writer who helps create scripts for other filmmakers under his preferred pseudonym Harry Caine. With help from his longtime agent/friend Judit (Blanca Portillo) and her adult son/club DJ Diego (Tamar Novas), Harry is able to get work while Diego aspires to be a screenwriter. When Harry learns that a millionaire named Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) has died, he recalls the story about Martel’s mistress in a secretary named Magdalena (Penelope Cruz) back in 1992. Magdalena was a part-time hooker whom Ernesto was attracted to while he helped her cancer-stricken father be moved to a hospital.

During a busy day, Harry gets a visit from a man named Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) wanting to work with him on a project. After pitching the project to Harry who doesn’t want to do it, Ray says something that Diego overhears as Harry realizes who it is as does Judit. Revealed to be Ernesto’s son, Judit orders Diego to watch for him while she has to go to the U.S. for business as he is also asked to watch over Harry. When Diego reveals to Harry about a script idea relating to vampire lovers, Harry helps him structure the story. Diego is excited by the idea of a script until he accidentally drinks something with a drug that got him sick. Harry learns what happens as he decides to be by his side as he tells Diego a story about Martel and Magdalena that Judit doesn’t want to tell.

Two years after helping Magdalena, she becomes Martel’s mistress while has aspirations to be an actress. Accompanied by Ernesto Jr., she auditions for Mateo that doesn’t go well at first until he wants to see her again. She gets a part for a comedy called Chicas y maletas (Girls and Suitcases) with Ernesto Jr. documenting everything in the production. Yet, Ernesto Jr. is really served as a spy for what happens as Martel is suspicious about Magdalena’s growing relationship with Mateo. Even as he hires a lip-reader (Lola Duenos) to help out where it becomes clear that Mateo and Magdalena are falling for each other. With Martel wanting to stop the affair by doing anything as possible to stop the production. Instead, the love grows strong where they go away for a while only to find out what Martel is doing to Mateo’s film as Harry through Diego learns what really happened to his film. Even as Judit, following her return from the U.S., confesses what’s happened along with the idea of why Ernesto Jr. has shown up to meet Harry.

The film is about a man reflecting on the woman he had loved and what happened when she is taken by the man she was with. Yet, it’s told largely through flashbacks along with a multitude of perspectives about this beautiful woman who would be the object of Mateo’s desires but also the ire of jealousy in a man named Martel. The story is told in four different worlds and periods. 1992 when Magdalena meets Martel. 1994 when Magdalena meets and falls for Mateo where around the same time, the film that Mateo is trying make is also told. The fourth and last piece is from 2008 where Mateo is now Harry Caine as he tells the story to Diego, who is keen on wanting to know the secret his mother has been keeping from him since Ernesto Jr.’s appearance.

The film has Almodovar not just playing with the noir genre as well as the mystery aspects as the character of Diego is the one trying to learn what has happened and how Harry became blind. With Diego playing the audience of sorts, he learns about Magdalena, Martel, Martel’s son, Harry when he was Mateo, and his own mother. Each of those individuals have their own motives and reasons for either keeping secrets or trying to reveal things. Yet, Almodovar doesn’t portray them as heroes nor villains but rather as human beings. Martel might seem like a true villain, it’s easy to think about that though he is someone so in love with Magdalena that he’s even tried to help her dying father.

Almodovar’s script does have a lot of dramatic elements for many of the film’s flashback sequences as it is an ode to film noir. Even as it includes a scene where Martel does something to Magdalena that is like a lot of noir films. The film within a film called Chicas y maletas is really Almodovar’s Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) with some changes as Almodovar gets a chance to make fun of himself. The mixture of noir, comedy, melodrama, and suspense would’ve made the film uneven but Almodovar is able to make it unify into a wonderful story that leaves the audience a chance to piece everything together.

Almodovar’s direction is definitely hypnotic in his framing as he often shoots scenes with a broad scope. Even if it’s an intimate room setting with two people in the frame just so the audience can look at the world they’re living in. The stylization of the shots from the noir-like compositions for many of the film’s dramatic moments to the vibrancy of the film that Mateo is making. Even in the scenes where Mateo and Magdalena go to the Lanzarote island where the canvas is much broader and the compositions are richer. Even in those scenes where the characters briefly speak English for a moment showing Almodovar going outside of the box. Almodovar also goes into the use of old-school video cameras for many of the material shot by Ernesto Jr. where there is a great scene where Magdalena says everything that’s needed to be said in Ernesto’s video. The direction overall is masterful as it shows Almodovar refining his style while taking on a few new ideas in the process.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto does a phenomenal job with the look of the film that ranges into a variety of moods. From the vibrant colors of the Chicas y maletas film to the noir-like look for many of the scenes at Martel’s home. Prieto’s photography is definitely a technical highlight of the film the way he shoots the stark but also peaceful world of Lanzarote to the world that is Madrid. Even as Prieto does some wonderful grainy camera for the film’s documentary footage.

Longtime Almodovar collaborator Jose Salcedo does a great job with the film’s editing. Particularly with its leisured pace and transitions in moving the film back and forth from flashback to present time. Salcedo’s cutting is mostly straightforward in its presentation but helps build the suspense slowly so the audience can get a chance to figure out what is going on.

Production designer Antxon Gomez, along with art director Victor Molero and set decorators Marta Blasco and Pilar Revuelta, does a fabulous job with the set pieces from the apartments that Harry and Judit live in along with the lavish home of Martel that represents his persona. Costume designer Sonia Grande does an excellent job with the costumes from the casual clothes that everyone wears to the stylish, dazzling dresses that Magdalena wears throughout the entire movie and such. Sound editor Peyalo Gutierrez and mixer Miguel Rejas do a wonderful job on the sound from the way shoes are heard when people are walking on marble floors to the atmosphere of the film set.

The film’s score by longtime Almodovar associate Alberto Iglesias is amazing for its dramatic orchestral score that plays to the noir tone of the film. Even as Iglesias mixes his Spanish folk sound with an orchestra to portray not just Mateo’s longing for Magdalena but also Martel’s jealousy. Iglesias’ work is truly superb while the rest of the soundtrack features a swelling orchestral piece from Miguel Poveda, a couple of electronic tracks, a piece by Can, and a cover of Michael Hurley’s Werewolf by Cat Power that plays to the haunting tone of the film.

The casting by Luis San Narciso does a superb job with the casting as the film includes numerous cameos from many of Almodovar’s array of regular actors and collaborators. Among them include Rossy de Palma, Carmen Machi, and Chus Lampreave as characters from Chicas y maletas along with Angela Molina as Magdalena’s mother, Kiti Manver as Magdalena’s brothel boss, Mariola Fuentes as an assistant of Mateo, and Lola Duenos as a lip-reader for Martel. Other notable small roles include Kira Miro as a model whom Harry would have sex with early in the film along with Alejo Sauras as a friend of Diego’s, and Ramon Pons as Magdalena’s dying father. Ruben Ochandiano is excellent as the devious Ray X who hopes to blackmail Harry while as Ernesto Jr., is a young filmmaker with long hair and pimples on his face who is desperate to become a filmmaker.

Tamar Novas is superb as Diego, Harry’s longtime assistant who aspires to be a writer while learning about the secrets that Harry has kept while becoming the man who helps Harry piece the missing pieces of the puzzle. Jose Luis Gomez is great as Ernesto Martel, a man who loves Magdalena but couldn’t bear to see her with another man as his desperation to have her would lead to some unimaginable things. The film’s best supporting performance definitely goes to longtime Almodovar regular Blanca Portillo as Judit, a longtime associate of Mateo/Harry who is haunted by Ray’s presence. Portillo does a magnificent job in portraying a troubled carrying secrets while admitting to her own guilt while not making her character pathetic despite her actions and motives.

Penelope Cruz is radiant in her role as Magdalena where she encompass all styles of beauty including an ode to the late, great Audrey Hepburn. While it may not top her performance in Volver, Cruz is able to showcase her range by being funny and relaxed in some moments while being dramatic and melancholic in other scenes. It’s definitely one of her best roles to date. Finally, there’s Lluis Homar in a spectacular performance as Mateo Blanco/Harry Caine. For Mateo, Homar plays a man who is an accomplished artist who finds a muse in Magdalena and falls for her. When he’s Harry Caine, he’s a man who still has some charm but also some regret over what happens while wondering what went wrong. It’s a mesmerizing role for Homar who is definitely one of the best actors working today internationally.

Los Abrazos Rotos is a remarkable yet spellbinding noir-thriller from Pedro Almodovar and company featuring top-notch performances from Penelope Cruz and Lluis Homar. Fans of Almodovar will definitely see this as another winning achievement from the renowned Spanish auteur. Even as his collaboration with Cruz, in four films so far, has cemented their place as one of the best director-actor collaborations in film. In the end, Los Abrazos Rotos is a chilling yet hypnotic film from Pedro Almodovar.

Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)

The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2011