Talk To Her (2002)

Title: Talk To Her
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Genre: Foreign (English Sub-Titled)
Highs: Silent movie scene is not to be missed.
Lows: None apparent.
RhynoBot Grade: A-

I started watching a movie late Wednesday night on IFC (BTW I love IFC, they show such a huge variety of movies - my favorite is Samurai Saturday's). To be fair I didn't catch it from the beginning but found it interesting from the description as I was scrolling through the channels.

The movie is "Talk To Her" by acclaimed Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodovar. Turns out the film actually won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay but I didn't know that until I looked up information on the movie on Netflix, which I'm glad I didn't know before watching it since it would likely bias my opinion. This film is in Spanish with English sub-titles so anyone opposed to reading dialogue, automatically this film is not for you.

The films stroyline is singular in focus but is viewed from two different angles combined with a mixture of complex emotions from both sides. Two men (Benigno and Marco) are in love with two different women (Alicia and Lydia, respectively) both in comas, how they came to be in comas was revealed later in the film (I'll get to that). Like I mentioned I didn't see the 1st 20 minutes so I missed some of the character development/set-up. Marco appears to have an on-again, off-again relationship with Lydia, the story appears to pick-up on one of their on-again phases. They drive into Madrid for a bullfight where Lydia is performing as a Matador. She gets violently mauled by the bull and winds up in a persistent vegetative state (coma) in the hospital. This is where Marco meets Benigno, a physical therapy worker assigned specifically to one trauma patient, Alicia, who is also in a coma. Marco and Benigno become friends through a series of conversations where Benigno encourages Marco to communication with his comatose love. You start to feel the great sense of emotion (love) that Marco has for Lydia and more so Benigno feels for Alicia whom he has been caring for four years. There is a great sense of friendship that develops between Marco and Benigno as each recounts the story of the traumatic events involving the women they love.

This is where you start to get a creepy Chester the Molester vibe from Benigno as he reveals to Marco that he had a prior "relationship" with Alicia before her accident. Not so much a relationship but more like he was stalking her in a friendly, "I'm not gonna hurt you", I love you from a far, kind of obsessive way. Alicia danced at the ballet studio across from Benigno's flat. He recounted the story of their meeting as he followed her one day from the studio. He goes so far as to make an appointment with Alicia's father who is a psychologist just to be near to her (the office doubles as their residence). After his 1st appointment he sneaks over to the residential side and starts looking through Alicia's room, taking an item - he also sees her naked as she exits the shower and catches him in the hallway of the residential side (got to say, nice rack on that girl). Before his next appointment with her father, Alicia is in a car accident putting her in a coma. She just "happened" to be admitted to the same hospital that Benigno worked at and was assigned full-time care to Benigno and another nurse by the hospital.

So here is where the complex set of emotions come into play. Marco obviously by now could plainly see the creepiness factor in Benigno but is still his friend and you get a sense of acceptance from him despite the awkward circumstances. As a male viewer you being to sympathize with Benigno since there is always that girl you loved from a far but were either too shy or not confident enough to approach but couldn't get out of your mind. He obviously crosses a line.

Well for me to describe any more of the story will spoil it if you want to see it, so let me say this - there is one scene that is a MUST SEE. It is Benigno describing to the comatose Alicia a silent picture he saw at the cinema. As he is describing it to her the silent movie is being shown on the screen. I got to tell you this little gem is perhaps the funniest, most captivating, disturbing piece of cinema I have seen in a while. Well worth watching even if you just skip forward to this part and to hell with the rest of the movie.

SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!!
Well Marco is surprised by another man showing up at Lydia's bedside. Turns out the weekend Lydia was injured she was going to tell Marco it was over and that she has been seeing this guy for several weeks. Marco says his good-bye's to Benigno and continues on with life. Eight months pass and Marco gets word that Lydia passed away from her injuries several months prior. He calls the hospital for more information and asks to talk to Benigno. He is informed that Benigno no longer works at the hospital and is in jail accused of raping and impregnating Alicia. Marco rushes back to Spain to visit his friend Benigno in jail and see if he can help. In the process he tries to find information for Benigno regarding Alicia and the baby.

BIG, BIG, SPOILER!!!
In the end we find out the baby was still born but the birth brought Alicia out of the coma. Marco was instructed not to tell Benigno this information out of fear of what he would do and Marco agreed. Shortly thereafter Marco receives a suicide letter from Benigno saying how he want to be with Alicia in a comatose state. Marco rushes to the jail to tell Benigno the truth but it is too late. In the end Marco encounters Alicia at a ballet performance. There is a familiarity between them that neither can describe but you feel it was Benigno's love that binds the two somehow. You are left with the impression that they develop a relationship forged from the love of the wacko that loved them both.

Good movie, you should see it.