...engaging and discerning culture, as a way of life...

December 02, 2005

Bad Education - 5

It had potential...and then it just stumbled and fell. This film was directed by Pedro Almodovar and is set in Spain (yes, it has subtitles). The story involves the idea of the catholic sex scandals as the point of interest in the film (Gael Garcia Bernal played a transvestite, he also plays the main character in The Motorcycle Diaries). This has the effect that the mystery and truth seeking aspect get under done and leave the viewer with the question of if the plot will be worth it. Early on it does the interesting story within a story within a story kind of thing. As more of the mystery is revealed you learn more and more about how different people perceiveve reality very differently. It isn't so bad as to complain about it, but it doesn't stick out as a good film either. Bad education indeed...I don't think their is much learning here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Almodovar wrote and directed "Talk to Her" a few years back, which is a masterpiece you may or may not have seen. It's guaranteed to polarize the viewer who wants to like the lead characters.

He likes his melodrama, and while I haven't seen "Bad Education" it was supposed to be Almodovar's Hitchcockian film. "Talk to Her" is still the pinnacle of his work from the 3 films of his I've seen (Live Flesh being the other).

Paul