At first, I thought Pedro Almodóvar must be crazy to combine sex and comatose patients. It was appalling to think of for a few moments, but later you seem to realize how he has portrayed desperation and love in a crude way.
Beningo and Marco are two friends who happen to meet by chance and the women they love are both hospitalized in coma. The relationship and lives of the four are shown in varying dimensions of time. Particularly touching is the relationship between Marco and Beningo. The way they both relate to each other's concerns is enchanting. Beningo is portrayed innocently but he proves that he is very serious about his passions.
Almodóvar (1999 Academy Award Winner for `Todo sobre mi madre') narrates a tale of love in the lives of two men. This film showcases his mastery in film craftsmanship and like many other of his previous works evokes a multitude of feelings without taking the characters too far. Almodóvar who is known for presenting his characters in a sensitive and honest way does so in this film too and these characters are perfectly unambiguous.
Javier Cámara (Beningo) has given an ingenious performance and you can see innocence flowing not only through his speech, but also through his body language. Darío Grandinetti's character is very interesting. He is seen being emotional in many scenes but his expression and personality are rather stoic most of the times. It is easy to be mistaken that Grandinetti has done little to emote effectively, but it has to be understood that his character and personality warrants such restraint in expression. However, his acting is impeccable and heart-warming in the scene he cries for his 'big' loss. I was personally aroused by his performance and maturity.
Alberto Iglesias's music is delicate with an appealing Spanish tinge encompassing it. Javier Aguirresarobe's lenses have captured the visuals with adequate light and color that adds poignancy to the theme. Many have described `Talk to Her' as Almodóvar's best. The film also won the `Best foreign Language Film' award at the Golden Globe Awards 2003. It is definitely a film that is worth watching and I hope it inspires many more American movie-goers to patronize more foreign-language films rather than sticking just to the over-rated high budget flicks. A compelling 9 out of 10.
Beningo and Marco are two friends who happen to meet by chance and the women they love are both hospitalized in coma. The relationship and lives of the four are shown in varying dimensions of time. Particularly touching is the relationship between Marco and Beningo. The way they both relate to each other's concerns is enchanting. Beningo is portrayed innocently but he proves that he is very serious about his passions.
Almodóvar (1999 Academy Award Winner for `Todo sobre mi madre') narrates a tale of love in the lives of two men. This film showcases his mastery in film craftsmanship and like many other of his previous works evokes a multitude of feelings without taking the characters too far. Almodóvar who is known for presenting his characters in a sensitive and honest way does so in this film too and these characters are perfectly unambiguous.
Javier Cámara (Beningo) has given an ingenious performance and you can see innocence flowing not only through his speech, but also through his body language. Darío Grandinetti's character is very interesting. He is seen being emotional in many scenes but his expression and personality are rather stoic most of the times. It is easy to be mistaken that Grandinetti has done little to emote effectively, but it has to be understood that his character and personality warrants such restraint in expression. However, his acting is impeccable and heart-warming in the scene he cries for his 'big' loss. I was personally aroused by his performance and maturity.
Alberto Iglesias's music is delicate with an appealing Spanish tinge encompassing it. Javier Aguirresarobe's lenses have captured the visuals with adequate light and color that adds poignancy to the theme. Many have described `Talk to Her' as Almodóvar's best. The film also won the `Best foreign Language Film' award at the Golden Globe Awards 2003. It is definitely a film that is worth watching and I hope it inspires many more American movie-goers to patronize more foreign-language films rather than sticking just to the over-rated high budget flicks. A compelling 9 out of 10.