So we walk out the cinema and my mum says to me “well that was a waste of 2 hours, but I didn’t not enjoy it!” make of that surmise what you will, but what I say is this… where the hell has Antonio Bandaras been hiding his acting talent all these years, the only thing recognisable about him was his static aesthetics, his facial gesticulation and body language was alien to his normal tongue in cheek performances.
There was none of the Hollywood slickness or sharpness however the grittiness of this film gave it character. It was definitely “foreign” both in content and style. The soundtrack once again made the film over the visuals, although one could argue that the mis-en-scene in each freeze frame was very thought through, perhaps the work of a want to be artisan. Which I suppose is to be expected from Pedro Almodóvar whose track record includes 2006’s Volver and Bad Education from 2004.
It was true escapism without a thought of the outside world (apart from the odd camera angle giving the leading lady, Elena Anaya, a striking resemblance to the delectable Natalie Portman yum yum). Although it is worth a mention that the themes of surgery potential and DNA/Genetic mutations are very current and thought provoking if you are that way inclined.
The timeline was played with a little to keep your interest but not enough to lose the audience, the handy "6 years later" etc text helped as well!
I came away confused (not because it was to hard to follow more that it was hard to comprehend) or at least in the words of the special needs donkey “I think I am confused but I am not sure”, although what I am definitely sure of is that am taking up Spanish and Yoga again…
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