La mala educación

With 'La Mala Educación' Pedro Almodóvar has surpassed himself. It's a very intelligent film with wisely-chosen actors. Gael García Bernal is simply magnificent in portraying three very different characters. This goes to show that he's not only got looks but also a great talent. It couldn't have been easy for him, especially when doing the role of Zahara! Fele Martínez is also very good as Enrique, Ignacio's beloved childhood friend. A round of applause goes to the young Ignacio as well. One can see the anxiety in his eyes when Father Manolo approaches him. The latter's frustration is very clearly brought out in the direction of certain scenes by Almodóvar. Definitely not a film to miss!

In "La Mala Educación", Almodóvar is very serious and too dark and tragic, when comparing to his previous movies. There are many usual elements, such as the attack to the Catholic Church, gays, travesties, homosexual intercourse, child abuse etc., but not in his common ironical, colorful and funny way; instead, the story is developed in a very bitter context. The screenplay magnificently discloses the plot, with a story inside another story, mixing "reality" with fiction; the direction of Pedro Almodóvar is excellent as usual; and Gael Garcia Bernal proves his versatility as an outstanding actor. Although being a great film, I do not dare to recommend "La Mala Educación" for any audiences. However, fans like me of this great Spanish director will certainly like it a lot. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Má Educação" ("Bad Education")

One of the most consistently great directors I've come across continues to amaze me with his wonderful blend of surreal and artistic beauty within a narrative you'd expect from a soap opera or trashy romance novel. Brilliant storytelling interweaving back and forth between past and present and a masterful way of bringing the truth to light. Gael García Bernal gives a world class performance and the rest of the cast follows suit. A truly fantastic and terrifyingly mesmerising film.

Spoilers

Since 'Hable con ella' ('Talk to her', for which my summary line was 'Almodovar mellowing?') which some consider Almodovar's best, his fans have been looking forward to his next one with great expectation but also some apprehension as to how could he possibly tope it, in the sheer ingenious creativity, if nothing else. Bound for Cannes release, Bad Education soon demonstrated that the apprehension is not unfounded. It is, after all, not easy to surpass the achievement of Hanle con ella. Undoubtedly still Almodovar, Bad Education however is Almodovar melodrama, a little short of Almodovar masterpiece.

The film opens with attention grabbing, definitive music (regardless of what mood) that is Almodovar's hallmark. Similarly, we see the inimitable Almodovar feuding colours. Homosexuality and fetishism you'll almost always expect in an Almodovar film but there is less extreme perversity and violence compared with some of his other pictures.

And here comes the plot. The story of the young altar boys is told in a manuscript of a book entitled 'The Visit', which is used by one of the grown-up boys Ignacio, now a transvestite called Zahara, as a tool for blackmailing Father Manolo. But wait, all this is just in a screenplay. The story of Father Manolo and the altar boys however is real. The real Ignacio is the screenplay writer, who is trying to get Enrique the film director, another grown-up altar boy, to produce the film. But wait again, Ignacio doesn't want to be called Ignacio, claiming that he is now a fully transformed person called Angel, an actor trying very hard to get to play the part Zahara. Having fun yet? There's more. Enrique becomes suspicious if Ignacio/Angel is really the Ignacio he knew as a kid, and embarks on an investigation. Meanwhile, Father Monolo jumps out of the screenplay, materialising as a real person. And all these stories within stories are told jumping back and forth between past and present, fiction and reality. Enough? There's more, a lot more.

In the end, Bad Education, while enormously entertaining, stops at being just that instead of moving further into the realm of depth of emotion and breadth of creativity we see in Talk to Her and All About Mother. However, in addition to the entertainment, there is one particularly bright spot, one Gael Garcia Bernal (playing Angel and all the rest of them) who first served notice in the brilliant Mexican film Amores perros (2000) that he has to be reckoned with. I just can't wait to see him play Cuban revolutionary icon 'Che' Geuvara in Motorcycle Diaries (2004).

It is a very good film, although not as absolutely great as "Todo sobre my madre" and "Hable con ella"... Maybe because "Mala education" is sadder and darker than the previous Almodòvar films, the theme (the child abuse during college years) is disturbing and depressing, of course.

Almodòvar chooses this time a "noir" story. Enrique, a young movie director, looks for ideas for his next film. By chance he meets Ignacio, an old fellow of the college and his first love. Ignacio gives him a tale written by him, about the sexual abuses on him made by a priest during his childhood, in the college. This will be the inspiration for Enrique's movie, but the director will discover another dramatic truth...

In this film the gay element -which exists in all the Almodòvar's movies- comes back, stronger than in his last films. But above all there's the child rape problem, this is one of the most delicate themes the Spanish director has ever talked about. And naturally "Mala educacion" is one of his most tragic films. Whereas in the previous movies Almodòvar always let a place for hope, with this film it's not the case. That's why it is a very difficult tale to watch.

Cinematography is excellent, the music as well (with many recalls to the Sixties songs). Actors are also very good. For Gael Garcia Bernal (we saw him recently in "Motorcycle diaries") this is another solid effort. He portrays Ignacio, he enters the Almodòvar world with all the ambiguity required.