Viva Pedro Part Three: Talk to Her

Viva Pedro: Part Three:
Talk to Her ***1/2

Once again, Pedro Almodovar gives us a film completely about women, only told through the lens of two men. It's about what women do to men sometimes, and how they always leave some kind of lasting impression. And it's about loneliness, friendship, love, and how all three of those could lead to tragic results. And out of all the films by Almodovar I've seen in this series, it's by far the strangest, darkest, and most dense piece of filmmaking that I have seen, maybe ever. I will not forget it.

"Talk to Her," originally released in 2002, is the story of two men, Benigno and Marco. Both of them sit next to each other by chance at a play, not knowing that years later they will be connected. Marco is a reporter, who is doing an article about the best female matador in the whole country, Lydia Gonzalez. However, the two of them fall into some kind of relationship, and years later they are still together. But, a tragic accident in a bullfight lands Lydia in a coma, and Marco alone and scared. And then he meets one of the nurses, Benigno, who was hired to take care of Alicia, another comatose patient, who was hit by a car on a rainy day four years ago. Benigno spends almost every day with Alicia, and when him and Marco form a strange friendship, he confesses that he is in love with her, and wants to marry her. After all, the two of the them get along better than most of the married couples that he knows.

And that's all I'm going to tell you. The beauty of these Almodovar films is that you never really know what is going to happen next. Before each of the films, I make sure that I know nothing about them, because every few minutes he offers some kind of twist or turn that I never see coming. And then afterwards, coming home, I'll read a little plot summery off a website, and just by reading the story doesn't give anything away. He has such a way with plots, taking us into a realm of the unusual and the bizarre. He also makes great characters. Here, we have an obsessed nurse, who looks at his patient everyday with no clothes on, and fantasizes about marrying her. However, we are not creeped out by him. I was never creeped out by Bengino. In fact, I felt sorry for the guy. He is human, and Almodovar treats him like one. He doesn't try and have us hate him with cheap plot devices.

The performances are all top notch. And the best is probably the beautiful and stunning Leonor Wattling, who is silent for three quarters of the film. Her talent is shown in the fact that the most interesting character who you can never take your eyes off of is actually just laying down for the entire movie. The films biggest problem is all in the first thirty minutes. It starts off on such a slow note before finally settling into the story, that I really can't call this a masterpiece. Parts in the beginning seemed a bit tacked on, as if Almodovar decided not to even start the story until well into the first twenty minutes. But the rest makes up for it. This is probably the most symbolic film I've seen. This should be shown in film classes. There's a scene that should be required viewing for everyone, even if they decide not to bother watching the movie. It is a segment shot like a silent film, with a man who drinks a potion that makes him shrink. It's called "Shrinking Lover," and tells what happened with his girlfriend now that he is small. It's the oddest thing you will ever see, and probably very funny when they actually filmed it.

I said this in the review for "All About My Mother." Almodovar loves writing about women, and in this case, he actually writes about women, only from the perpective of men. This movie isn't actually about two women, but what these two women do to these two men. And the actual problems that it causes them. Men are weak creatures, and succomb to the temptation and power of women so much that it just causes destruction and their downfall. Bengino and Marco become friends, but its not enough for everything that happens to them over the course of a few months.

Almodovar has crafted yet another great film, and one that should be remembered for years to come. As the series gets closer and closer to the finish, each week I find myself more and more exicted to see what his next offering is. I'll be upset with the last is done, and then "Volver" awaits. "Talk to Her" is nearly perfect, and has become mandatory viewing.

Viva Pedro continues soon with "The Flower of My Secret."