Talk to Her

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Starring: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores

Marco's (Grandinetti) girlfriend Lydia (Flores) is a bullfighter, and after being gored she falls into a coma. At the hospital, Marco meets Benignio (Camara), who is taking care of Alicia (Watling), who is also in a coma - but as he says, the four years since she arrived have been the richest of his life. All pretty usual for an Almodovar film: everything sounds complicated, but on screen it makes sense - offbeat sense, I admit.

Almodovar has been making offbeat films for years, but recently he has moved towards a mature, sophisticated style that is no less intriguing, but is a much more emotionally satisfying. Talk to Her is not only about the strong bonds between the men and their comatose loves, but about the strong relationships that can form between men. As Marco and Benignio get to know one another, Almodovar t eases out the subtle details of their personalities and their lives with great cinematic skill.

The film would be half of what it is without the four lead performers. Camara manages to be naive and unsettling: he seems innocent enough, but there's something that makes you wary in the fact that he stalked Alicia (in the nicest way) before she became ill. Grandinetti is handsome and charming without being arrogant or annoying, and Flores plays the female bullfighter straight rather than k ooky or butch, but Watling has the hardest part. For most of the film she is supposed to be comatose, and quite often she's semi-naked.

Almodovar has created yet another masterpiece. Not quite an art film, but distinctly un-mainstream, Talk to Her will appeal to longtime Almodovar fans, newcomers to his work, and all lovers of great films. You don't have to talk to her. Just watch.

Iphegenia Bright