Bad Education

Pedro Almodovar follows up his superb Talk to Her with this deeply provocative drama which appears to be one of the most autobiographical in the director's cannon so far. At the centre of the picture is the relationship between Enrique (Fele Martinez) and Ignacio Rodriguez (Gael Garcia Bernal), two boys who grew up together in a tough religious school. Early on in the film, the handsome grown-up Ignacio Rodriguez delivers a short story, 'The Visit', to his estranged friend, who is now a successful film director. Since the story is obviously based on their experiences in the oppressive school in the 1960s, Enrique is immediately drawn to it and its unravelling of dark secrets, including the sexual awakenings of the two men. Ignacio, or as he now likes to be called Angel, has one condition for the usage of his story, however - that he gets the lead role in the production...

While parallels with the director's own life are impossible to dismiss, Almodovar leaves sentimentality at the door in this accomplished and telling piece of work. As usual, the writer-director delights in shifting the parameters of the movie at any given opportunity, but there's barely a false note struck here, as he impressively blends film noir - there's a dark subplot which holds the key to the picture - melodrama and ocassionally high farce. His actors are superb - the ambiguous relationship between Enrique and Ignacio is expertly charted by Fele Martinez and Gael Garcia Bernal, while the director's confidence is unshakeable. Go see.