I have to admit, I’m not a Pedro Almodovar fan so I can’t compare “Broken Embraces” to any of this other work. I know that Penelope Cruz has been in several of his movies and in this one, she’s luminous. “Broken Embraces” is a movie-within-a-movie, not a particularly new approach to storytelling. However, here it’s engaging for most of the movie. As long as the present (2008) proposes questions and the past (1994) answers them, the story is compelling. But there are a few too many coincidences at the end.
A blind writer, Harry Caine (Luis Homar), is a middle-aged man who was once Mateo Blanco, a successful filmmaker. Harry has been using the pseudonym after his latest movie, “Girls and Suitcases” debuted in 1994. It starred the woman he loved, Lena (Cruz) and was produced by her rich and powerful jealous lover Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez). There’s also Diego (Tamar Novas), Harry’s protégé; Judit (Bianca Portillo), who seems more than just Harry’s manager; and the mysterious Ray X, who knows a lot about Harry’s previous life. “Broken Embraces” is an okay movie, but, for some reason, I was expecting more. Subtitles. 1/28/10
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