DVD Review: Broken Embraces

Posted Mar 17, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Mar 17, 2010 at 03:39 PM

Broken Embraces
Stars: Lluis Homar, Penelope Cruz, Jose Luis Gomez, Blanca Portilla, Tamar Novas, Ruben Ochandiano
Directors: Pedro Almodovar (“All About My Mother”)
The plot: Blind screenwriter Harry Caine (Homar) lives alone, spending most of his time with his agent, Judit (Portilla), and her son, Diego (Novas) in Madrid. When wealthy businessman Ernesto Marcel dies, Caine tells Diego about the events from 14 years ago that led to his blindness. At the time, Caine was a movie director named Mateo Blanco, and his last movie starred Marcel’s mistress Lena (Cruz). Caine and Lena fell in love during filming, setting up a love triangle that led to a tragic end.
Bottom line: From an early scene in which Caine seduces a young woman, this movie is concerned with sex, obsession and, somewhat incongruously, how people form families in the strangest circumstances. The fact that Cruz is an object of obsession for two men is, of course, believable. An air of mystery about Caine’s past makes the first hour fly as Almodovar moves seamlessly between Caine’s current life and his time as a film director. However, the movie gets bogged down in the second half as it shifts points of view, taking its time getting to where it obviously was going to go all along. Actually, being obvious is also a problem with one of the film’s big reveals, as it can be seen coming from the movie’s earliest scenes.
Extras: An excellent mini-movie starring Carmen Machi as a sex-obsessed social councilor; an interview with Cruz
Quote: “Everything’s already happened to me. All that’s left now is to enjoy life.”
127 minutes (R; sexual content, profanity and some drug material)