Broken Embraces

I will admit that I did not know what to expect when Broken Embraces arrived for a review. The fact that it stars Penelope Cruz was a good sign. That plus the fact that it was directed by Academy Award winning writer and director Pedro Almodovar was even better given his past track record. I had also heard some good critical buzz about the film but have found in the past that good critical buzz is not necessarily a harbinger of an enjoyable film or one that would be assessable to a mass audience. Thankfully, Broken Embraces, merits the praise that has been heaped upon it by the trade press and contains yet another in a string of amazing performances by Penelope Cruz.

Film 

Broken Embraces is one of those films that takes awhile to pull you in but once it does, you are in for good. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles which may put off some viewers. Please don’t let that fact dissuade you from experiencing this film. The opening is a bit disjointed as it is another film that contains a series of flashbacks to built the plot line.

The film is essentially two love stories both centering around Magdelena or Lena in yet another riveting and sensual performance by Penelope Cruz. The film opens in the present and focus on a former director who continues to make a living writing screenplays. He is blind as a result of some sort of accident that is not disclosed until later in the film.

After losing his sight, the director, refused to be acknowledged by his given name, Mateo Blanco, instead choosing to be known as Harry Caine. Once you are introduced to Harry, the film flashes back to introduce you to Lena and her older lover Ernesto, a high powered and wealthy power broker, who after a series of prior marriages, develops a fixation with Lena.

The relationship between Ernesto and Lena is clearly one of convenience, at least for Lena, who is using Ernesto for his wealth having come from very modest means, which Ernesto is happy to share in exchange for Lena’s physical attributes. However, over time, Lena begins to become dissatisfied with Ernesto and her life with him and seeks out to carve out a career as a film actress, a career which she had given up on in the past. She auditions for a role in Mateo’s latest film and he, quite naturally becomes quite smitten with her, a fact which does come to the attention of Ernesto, who will take any step necessary not to lose his beloved Lena.

I am hesitant to give up much more of the plot so as to not spoil the film for those of you who may want to see it. Suffice it to say that this is a beautifully written and directed film and features fine performances by the entire cast and is highly recommended.

Video  

The video on this release is visually appealing in more ways than one. Penelope Cruz looks sensational here as does the cinematography. The film features a natural color palette with bright and bold primary colors and deep blacks. Detail and background details are excellent as well, with the fine facial details in the actors’ faces, and in Ms. Cruz’ case, her physique, beautifully rendered. Clarity and depth of image are top notch as well. I was not able to detect any obvious evidence of the application of edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. In short, this is a great looking film that has been faithfully encoded to the Blu-ray format and looks exactly as it was meant to be by the director, which is how it should be.

Audio 

The quality of the audio reproduction on this release is very impressive as well. While the film is rather front heavy with only occasional use of the surrounds, the overall fidelity of the sound more than makes up for the shortcomings of the sound design in terms of immersion. The film features a rich and smooth sound with excellent transparency and imaging. While I wouldn’t call the sound design bombastic by any means, there are a few instances with rich, tight and dynamic bass. Just take a listen to the music track being played by the character Diego, at a local club where he is the DJ. The bass is deep and tight without even a hint of bloat.

Overall, the two brief scenes in the club offer the best sound in the film, with the most aggressive use of the surrounds to create a nice immersive sound experience. While I don’t speak much Spanish, the dialogue track features excellent fidelity as well and would be easy to follow were you fluent in Spanish. The overall musical score is also presented with excellent fidelity, with a smooth and natural sound with excellent transparency and depth. Other than the lack of an aggressive use of the surrounds, the audio on this release is top notch and very pleasing to the ears.

Special Features 

I can;t say that I was impressed with the extras included with this release. Unlike most releases, there is no making of featurette included. Also missing is the usual director’s commentary. The extras include some deleted scenes as well as a featurette “Pedro Directs Penelope” which consists of a split screen with the director coaching Penelope during one of the scenes of the film, in Spanish of course. Not exactly entertaining.

Also included is a brief featurette “On the Red Carpet: The New York Film Festival Closing Night” featuring interviews with Penelope Cruz and director Pedro Almodovar. Also included is a Variety Q & A with Penelope Cruz as well as an original film by Pedro Almodovar entitled “The Cannibalistic Councillor” which is an extended sequence of a scene that is featured in Broken Embraces.

None of the extras are presented in true HD. While some of the graphics are in HD, the actual video footage is widescreen standard definition. The release is BD-Live enabled but does not include a digital copy.

Final Thoughts 

Broken Embraces is a wonderful film that features a fine performance by Penelope Cruz and fine audio and video presentations. The film is well worth a look and is highly recommended.