Bad Education

Pedro Almodovar's films are almost always character-driven. His characters are always going through some inner struggles. In the end, redemption is always the key to self-actualization.

La Mala Educacion (Bad Education) is no different. It is about Angel (Gael Garcia Bernal) who suddenly showed up in Enrique Goded's (Fele Martinez) doorsteps. He claimed that he is Enrique's long-time buddy, Ignacio. He wants to be a movie actor because he learned that Enrique has been directing films. He brought with him a story that he wrote that talks about his childhood with Enrique followed by a fictionalized future. Enrique, despite his feelings of uneasiness towards the present Ignacio, adapted the story into film and made Angel his leading actor.

Bad Education comes in two parts. The first part was the romance that happened between Ignacio and Enrique. That being said, homophobes should stay away from this film because of the somewhat graphic sex scenes between the two lead actors. The second part is Almodovar's homage to Hitchcock movies: a thriller. A mystery lies with the present-day Ignacio that would change everything for him and Enrique.

Did the two parts make a good combination? As a whole, the film worked. The suspense was quite gripping in the middle. You couldn't help but feel interested with the mystery that was unfolding right before your eyes. But when all the secrets were revealed, they don't seem to get hold of you anymore. Even as a love story, it doesn't quite hold up. There wasn't much depth in story with what Ignacio and Enrique had felt for each other. In the end, you'd end up wanting for more. But then, you get to take a film as a whole and not by its parts, right?

Almodovar had good actors led by Gael Garcia Bernal. Gael seemed to be a director's actor. He is very good in every movie that he makes. This movie wasn't an exception. He even get to play a transexual that made him look like Julia Roberts! They could pass as sisters in a movie, believe me! Just to see him act his best is worth seeing this film!

Amazon describes this movie as Almodovar's best since All About My Mother. I disagree. As of the moment, no other Almodovar movie would come at par with All About My Mother. It has depth, substance, and heartfelt emotions that would make it one of the bests in World Cinema. Bad Education just falls short in comparison with such classic.