Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Bad Education, the latest film from the phenomenal Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodovar, isn't phenomenal, for starters; it's not on par with the shocking brilliance of Talk to Her. But it is very good, and it should be seen for a couple of reasons.
1. This might be Almodovar's most visually stunning, sumptuous film. It's like swimming in a heavy, rich oil painting.
2. The storytelling style, cutting between real life, fictionalized life, and a movie within the movie, is challengingly clever. It's not Memento, but it shouldn't be.
3. Gael Garcia Bernal gives one of '04's strongest performances all-around as three different characters - including a drag queen vaguely reminiscent of Julia Roberts.
Flawed Almodovar is like bad pizza; you know the rest. B+
1. This might be Almodovar's most visually stunning, sumptuous film. It's like swimming in a heavy, rich oil painting.
2. The storytelling style, cutting between real life, fictionalized life, and a movie within the movie, is challengingly clever. It's not Memento, but it shouldn't be.
3. Gael Garcia Bernal gives one of '04's strongest performances all-around as three different characters - including a drag queen vaguely reminiscent of Julia Roberts.
Flawed Almodovar is like bad pizza; you know the rest. B+
# posted by Thomas : 6:49 PM
