Bad education

More Spanish imagination as I saw Bad Education in the cinema today as part of UGC's "Best of 2004" rescreenings. This is the second Almodovar movie I watch, Talk to Her being the first (I somehow prefer the Spanish title Hable con Ella). They both explore disturbing themes through subversion, and sexual ambiguity play a role in both. But they are otherwise very different in content, which considering their respective statures, is impressive. Gabriel Garcia Bernal deserves to be mentioned for several convincing performances (yes, because he/she is not a single person throughout).

This is a complex movie with subtexts and a clever (but not too clever (that can be annoying)) narrative structure. The flashbacks and interplay between real life and fiction is balanced wonderfully. The colours are rich and warm, the influence of pop art is evident in the credits' design, the objects on camera, and even the decor. As with 2046 I would watch a scene or a sequence and think to myself "yes, this is amazing". Simple things - there is one place where the typewritten sentences on a sheet of paper (of the screenplay in the movie, called "The Visit") are shown large as life on the screen. Nothing too unusual. Suddenly the silhouettes of two people start appearing on the sheet - it's strange and you don't know what's happening. There's a voice talking and explaining something, and then suddenly you realise it's because you are moving onto the next scene, and the figures gain colour and texture and a background starts to fill the sheet. Yet at that moment, with the superimposed images and just as you were starting to understand that something is strange, a new meaning was created.

I'm not going to try and analyse the movie here. Almodovar is a sly craftsman. It struck me during the movie that the scene in which Zahara did her little cabaret is strategically placed near the start of the movie. Since the movie has no female protagonist this is so very important. At that point Bernal's act effectively creates a female sexual persona that retains its fascination throughout the movie by reinforcement through subtle gestures.

Another thing that struck me is that, just like in your typical Holloywood fare but there with heterosexuality - every other encounter happens to be between two gay men and ignites intrigue, as if the whole world is just a canvas for gay sexual drama. I thought there may be some ironic wit in this.