BROKEN EMBRACES (CERT. 15)
SPAIN 2009 DIRECTED BY PEDRO ALMODÓVAR
COLOUR 127 MINS
WITH: PENÉLOPE CRUZ, LLUÌS HOMAR, BIANCA PORTILLO
A complex, highly coloured homage to film-making revolving around the recollections of a
blind screen-writer about his last directorial project and his love for the leading lady, the
mistress of a powerful and possessive man.
Introduced by Dr Carmen Herrero.
‘A voluptuary of a film, drunk on primary colours, caressing Penélope Cruz, using the devices of a
Hitchcock to distract us with surfaces while the sinister uncoils beneath.’ – Roger Ebert
‘An intriguing film of great intelligence and formal beauty: a movie about film and the picture-making
process, which Almodóvar suggests is a metaphor for life itself.’ – Philip French
‘The film exudes exuberant melancholy: it’s both grave and effervescent, tender and cruel. At first a
simple story, it unfolds into an intricate and enigmatic structure, full of twists and reversals.’ – The
New York Times
‘Almodóvar’s fourth film with Penélope Cruz isn’t his finest work, but he brings his signature
visual brilliance to this noirish tale, and the cast turns in some first-class performances.’ – Rotten
Tomatoes
‘The sheer gorgeous style of Broken Embraces is what is so seductive. Its vivid, rich palette of
colours has the texture of something by Hitchcock or Sirk, but goes beyond pastiche.’ – The
Guardian
