La mala educación (2004)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writer:

Pedro Almodóvar (writer)

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.

Plot Keywords:

School | Teacher | Sexual Abuse | Catholic | Screenplay

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 11 wins & 30 nominations

Cast

Gael García Bernal	...	Ángel / Juan / Zahara
Fele Martínez	...	Enrique Goded
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Padre Manolo
Lluís Homar	...	Sr. Manuel Berenguer
Francisco Maestre	...	Padre José
Francisco Boira	...	Ignacio
Juan Fernández	...	Martín
Nacho Pérez	...	Ignacio (as Ignacio Pérez)
Raúl García Forneiro	...	Enrique (as Raúl Gª Forneiro)
Javier Cámara	...	Paca / Paquito
Alberto Ferreiro	...	Enrique Serrano
Petra Martínez	...	Madre
Sandra
Roberto Hoyas	...	Camarero

Also Known As:

Bad Education (International: English title)
Las visitas (Spain) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for a scene of explicit sexual content.; Rated R for strong sexual content throughout, language and some drug use. (special edition)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish | Latin

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:18 | Hungary:16 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Poland:15 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (special edition) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Escuela Pías de Alella, Alella, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Canal+ España

Trivia:

At the beginning of the movie, there's a poster of a fictitious film called "La abuela fantasma" on the wall in Enrique's studio (it's clearly visible when Ignacio leaves after giving his screenplay to Enrique). "La abuela fantasma" was the original title of another Almodovar film, _Volver (2006)_.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Burenguer declines Ignacio's story over the phone, he says that he wouldn't be accepting it for "Short Stories of the 80's". According to his story, it would have had to been at least 1977, three years before the '80s let alone before a compilation of stories from the '80s would be released.

Movie Connections:

References Esa mujer (1969)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

A movie lover's dream come true.

This is a difficult film to write about. For one thing, to describe the plot would be to give away the twists and thus spoil its surprises; but for another, it's impossible to take a great work of art and put it into words. That said, here goes:

Truth be told, it was the promise of Gael Garcia Bernal (whom I've loved since "Y Tu Mama Tambien") in drag that piqued my interest in seeing "Bad Education." The only other Almodovar movie I'd seen before this was "Talk to Her," which I was on the fence about, but if Gael Garcia Bernal was involved, I was happy to give Almodovar another shot. (Interestingly, "Bad Education" has given me a new appreciation of "Talk to Her." The two films share a lot of themes -- false identity and self-creation, the willful self-deception and fantasy of falling in love, the spiritualization of aesthetic beauty -- not to mention a hypnotic use of music, an indifferent attitude towards women, and a few actors I recognized.)

Almodovar's genius in both "Bad Education" and "Talk to Her" is his ability to set the scene, stringing the audience along, lulling it into a sense of comprehension and security, and then suddenly turning the tables with a twist of such dizzying magnitude that the mind, reeling, forced to give up on trying to understand, must just relax and allow the movie to take over -- miraculously, all without leaving the audience feeling manipulated. In "Bad Education," he takes this device to breathless, upper-atmospherical levels, for with each twist, the film takes on a new genre.

It begins as a tender coming-of-age story, interspersed with boarding-school flashbacks reminiscent of such French fare as Louis Malle's "Au revoir, les enfants" and François Truffaut's "L'argent de pôche," although I sensed a lot of Fellini in the mod outfits, feathery hairstyles, and picturesque bicycle-strewn streets. Probably the most romantic segment of the film, it alludes even to "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Henry Mancini's "Moon River" hasn't been employed so creatively since last year's "Angels in America"). Indeed, the performances are so endearing, the cinematography so warm and luminous, that this segment of "Bad Education" could easily exist as its own self-contained movie. I was fully prepared to embrace it and love it as a sincere period romance.

But without warning, the film turns itself upside down and becomes an exhilarating meta-commentary in the vein of Charlie Kaufman's "Adaptation" (complete with crocodiles). Romance turns to farce and tragedy to comedy as the self-consciously cinematic style gives way to the silliness of a movie-within-a-movie.

Unlike "Adaptation," though, "Bad Education" goes on, and in this way it retains its heart and soul. Further twists are introduced, and the movie metamorphoses into a mystery, a thriller, a dark rain-soaked noir -- by the end, I felt as though I had just lived through a hundred years of cinema history, all condensed into less than two rich, glorious hours.

So what holds it all together? The answer is Gael Garcia Bernal. He is a true movie star -- divinely beautiful, dazzlingly charismatic, with that all-important aura of mystery -- and though he virtually plays five characters as his character transforms along with the film, his strikingly calm blue-green eyes and sensual mouth provide a steady center for the madness around him. Despite the rumors of his abusive treatment on set at the hands of Almodovar, Garcia Bernal has a dignity (without which "Bad Education" would collapse under the weight of its own intelligence) that no amount of makeup, wigs, dresses, induced anorexia, or fake Spanish lisping can mask.

"Bad Education" was one of the most intense movie-going experiences I've ever had, and if its future doesn't hold critical acclaim and recognition as a classic, then there's no justice in the world.