Movie director Enrique Goded (Fele Martínez) is offered a script by an actor (Gael García Bernal) that details the love affair they had when they were young boys at a strict Catholic school. Pedro Almodóvar stays away from women this time and tells a story about gay men. Homosexuality is not the main theme, though; it’s a film noir about revenge and how important a happy childhood is to every person. Step by step we learn more about the boys who fell in love with each other and were abused by a priest; it’s hard to say just how much Almodóvar reveals himself in this truly dark story, but it’s very interesting stuff. The music score is a strong asset.
2004-Spain. 109 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar. Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Music: Alberto Iglesias. Cast: Gael García Bernal (Ángel), Fele Martínez (Enrique Goded), Daniel Giménez Cacho (Padre Manolo), Lluís Homar, Javier Cámara, Petra Martínez.
Trivia: Original title: La mala educacíon.
Last word: “I would like the movie to be understood by the audience with no difficulty. My interest is not to be cryptic – my interest is to be transparent. I’m very interested in making movies that are very complex. My challenge is to make transparent movies out of stories that are not. I want the movie to be understood in the same way as when someone understands something when they have been hypnotized. As if the story grabs you and drags you along without your being conscious of it. But I’m in the group of authors that would rather have his movies be completely understood.” (Almodóvar, Creative Screenwriting)
