Talk To Her is the latest film from Spanish wunderkind director Pedro Almodovar. It would have been a sure-fire Oscar winner this year for 'Best Foreign Film' if the Spanish government had put it forward - for some obscure reason they failed to.
Almodovar himself is probably the most internationally renowned Spanish director since Luis Bunuel - and he shares with Bunuel a love of the absurd, and the mingling of beauty, cruelty and humour.
Almodovar's movies have slowly been getting more maintstream as his career has developed. For a mass audience, this is one of his most approachable movies to date, along with its immediate precursor All About My Mother - these are a long way down the road from his earlier wild, anarchic movies such as Pepi, Luci and Bom, Matador, Kika, or Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down.
But while Almodovar seems to be moving down the mainstream road, that is not to say that he is in any way diminishing his originality or pandering to his audience. He is just tempering his early manic wildness. The delicious shock factors of his earlier movies are being defused, but his love of humanity remains. I do prefer the mock-pornographic anarchy of the earlier movies, but Talk To Her is still a major achievement, by anyone's yardstick.
There are two stories being told in this movie; both become inextricably entwined. Journalist Marco is in love with a female bullfighter, Lydia Gonzalez, while male nurse Benigno is in love with a young dance student, Alicia.
Both Lydia and Alicia, as the result of separate accidents, end up in the same hospital, both in comas Benigno has taken a job at the hospital to care for Alicia; this is where his fate joins with Marco's, as Marco visits Lydia.
Benigno cares intimately for Alicia - her father knows that Benigno is washing and massaging his daughter's nude body, and he relaxes under the false belief that Benigno is gay. At the same time Benigno tries to teach Marco that just because his love is in coma doesn't mean he can no longer relate to her - he must talk to her. Tell her everything that is happening. Tell her his desires.
The story develops in ways that are in one sense predictable, but still very shocking and sad. However, although this is a tragedy, Almodovar does still find room to inject his love for his characters - and also a very wonderful black and white dream segment which is, I think, in part a tribute to Bunuel.
This movie demands attention, but will reward that attention. However, do not make the mistake of judging Almodovar by this movie alone. Seek out on DVD at least his Matador, Kika and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, to experience the world of possibly the most imaginative and rewarding international director working today.
As usual, the film is marked by Almodovar's keen use of music as backing - all his films use fantastic music to point and develop his scenes. And for this movie, Almodovar has also recruited the greatest choreographer working today, Pina Bausch of the Wuppertal Dance Theatre, to create some very special passages for his movie, stamped with the dreamy timelessness which is one of her trademarks.
Unfortunately, this DVD transfer is marred by the ridiculous lack of normal English subtitles. The viewing experience is marred by having to endure English for the Hearing Impaired as the only subtitling option on offer - and while this is of use for the deaf, it should be an option, not the only choice.
I find that when I have settled into the world carefully crafted by a director such as Almodovar, that it is intrusive and mood-destroying to be suddenly told, via English HI subtitles, that 'Lydia Screams' or 'Dog Barks' or other inanities. This tendency to offer hearing-impaired subtitles only is increasing; its use is both careless and stupid.
