Bad Education Release Date: November 19, 2004 Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Leonor Watling Directed by: Pedro Almodovar GLENN KENNY'S REVIEW (posted 11/19/04)
Abandoning, for at least the moment, the generous emotional palette he used to such soul-stirring effect in Talk to Her, Pedro Almodóvar has created a dense, audacious film in which layers of cinematic artifice lovingly camouflage (at least for a while) its characters’ dark, damaged heart. A Hitchcock/film noir homage whose femme fatale is a man who’s as alluring in drag as he is diving into a swimming pool in his tighty whities, à la Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice (Gael García Bernal, spectacular in a role far more multidimensional than his Saint Che in The Motorcycle Diaries), Education offers trenchant observations on Franco-era Catholicism, child abuse, and mutually exploitative relationships while functioning as a funny, nasty, twisted and eventually quite disturbing thriller. Spanish moviemaker Enrique Goded (Fele Martínez), stuck for ideas for a new film, gets an office visit from a guy claiming to be his old school chum Juan (Bernal). Enrique doesn’t recognize him as such, but Juan is most insistent—and most insistent that Enrique read a story that Juan has written. Through the tale, Juan takes Enrique on a journey into a very painful past, providing inspiration for Enrique. But the truth at the heart of the tale is something Enrique didn’t bargain for. At the end, Almodóvar insists that Enrique retain his moviemaking “passion,” but the real director is unsparing in depicting all the corruption that the passionate are prone to. It’s tough stuff, and it’s another great achievement by a filmmaker on a roll.
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