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Talk to Her (Hable con Ella) /

Rated: R

Starring: Rosario Flores, Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Roberto Alvarez 

Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar 

Produced by: Agustin Almodovar 

Written by: Pedro Almodóvar 

Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

 

Movie Image

Movie Image

Movie Image

     Pedro Amoldovar’s lavishly haunting tale, Talk to Her, is deeply rich in unsound drama, as well as a certain, bizarre sexuality. Written and directed by the Spanish master, this is a truly heartfelt film; of captivating emotion. By its cover, this is a movie, any virgin viewer would call incomprehensible. But, when discovering its true meaning, one finds that it is a miraculous tale about love, loss, and addiction. Beautiful and intelligent, this is one of the best films of the year. Talk to Her’s vivid writing, healthy direction, and prosperous performances make it a superbly astounding cinematic experience.

     Amoldovar, who has always been known for dishing out bizarre and ironic tales, clearly shows passion through his splendorous writing. Crisply baked to a golden-brown perfection, in his script, a line is never wasted. He has an amazing perception on life, and this is made evident in each of his screenplays. The value of normality, to a certain extent is shown to us through strange and moody characters. Take the Amoldovar’s Benigno, played by Javier Camara, for example. Benigno is a male nurse, who falls in love with a patient of his, that’s in a coma. He tries to talk to this woman, to comfort her, and they spend days together. This relationship seems strangely real, even though realistically, most people would deem him insane – which happens several times in the film.

      The direction, also by Amoldovar, is a triumph to watch. As we see the lives of many characters, in several scenarios, there is a vacant ring of hope that emerges from the picture. Not to say that he is anything short of a genius, Amoldovar’s shots are nothing but astounding. I deeply respect him as a filmmaker. There is a bizarre eeriness, derived from the shots, that is extremely beneficial to Talk to Her. This is a slowly haunting flick, and to my surprise, almost everything is revolved at the end. This just shows us how good Amoldovar is. Even having that said, after viewing such a mystical film, we ponder its every twist. Talk to Her is nothing short of magical.

      Javier Camara and Dario Graninetti perform with an emotionally engaging wit. Graninetti is remarkable as Carlos, a man who first meets Camara’s Benigno at a silent cinema showing. During this outing, Carlos and Benigno never converse, but they manage to keep one another in vacant memory (partially because Benigno was vigorously sobbing through the film half of it). The two men reencounter at a private clinic that Benigno works at. They are drawn to each other, because each is stuck in the exact same situation. Benigno is taking care of a patient in a coma, and Carlos’ girlfriend has been thrown into one by a raging bull, by its forceful gore. Camara and Graninetti capture the heart-wrenching feelings that their characters have both realistically and sentimentally.

     Talk to Her hardly shows us the real strange side of Amoldovar, but expresses as deep a meaning as one of his most utterly bizarre picture-shows. Regardless of its, indeed, wacky cover, it moves and preaches as beautifully, if not more, than a straightforward film. Sadistically skillful, and stylishly impacting, it is one of the few movies that have truly captivated me from beginning to end, in this past year. Even accepting the few flaws that come across during its duration, Talk to Her is still an undeniably enriching cinematic extravaganza.

-Danny, Bucket Reviews

 


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