Hable con ella

Plot synopsis:
The story unfolds in flashbacks, giving details of two separate relationships that become intertwined with each other.
During a performance of Café Müller, a dance-theatre piece by Pina Bausch, Benigno Martín and Marco Zuluaga cross paths, but the two men are no more than strangers. Still, Benigno notices that Marco cries.
Marco is a journalist and travel writer who happens to see a TV interview with Lydia González, a famous female matador. He thinks that an article on her would be interesting and, on the instructions of his editor, he contacts her in a bar, where she asks him to take her to her house. As they talk, she elaborates on the fact that she broke up with her boyfriend “el Niño de Valencia”, another matador, something that has been all over the tabloids. As Marco confesses that he knows nothing of bullfighting and that he is a journalist, she becomes angry and leaves his car without saying a word. As he drives off, he hears a scream inside her house and stops; Lydia rushes off and climbs back into his car: she asks him to kill a snake that she found in her house. He does so and comes out of the house crying. With that new confidence established between them, they become friends and, later on, lovers. Marco attends a wedding in Toledo and is surprised to find Lydia there too, since she had said that she did not want to go. The wedding turns out to be that of Marco’s former fiancée, Angela, who had the same phobia of snakes as Lydia; Marco was very much in love with Angela and had a very hard time getting over her (which was the reason for his constant crying over things he could not share with her). Lydia says that she has something important to say, but she prefers to wait until after the bullfight that afternoon; but she is gored and becomes comatose. Marco does not leave her side at the hospital and finally befriends Benigno, who recognizes him from the dance-theatre performance. Marco is told by the doctors that people in a coma never wake up and that, while there are miracle-stories of people who have come back, he should not keep his hopes high.
Benigno is a personal nurse and caregiver for Alicia Roncero, a beautiful dance student, who lies in a coma, but Benigno sees her as alive; he talks his heart out to her, and brings her all kinds of dancing and silent black and white film mementos. As it turns out, Benigno had been obsessed with Alicia for a while, before she was in a coma, since his apartment is in front of the dance studio where she practiced every day. At first his obsession was only from a distance, since Benigno was taking care of his possessive mother, who seemed to be immobile. For that reason, he became a nurse and also a beautician. Free to move about after his mother dies, he finally picks up the courage to talk to Alicia, after she dropped her wallet on the street. As they walk together to her house, they talk about her discovery of silent black and white films and about dancing. When she walks into her building, Benigno notices that she lives in the house of Dr Roncero, who is a psychiatrist. Benigno makes an appointment to see the doctor and talks about his unresolved bereavement grief over his mother. But it is all a ruse to gain access to the apartment, where he steals a hair-clip from Alicia’s room. That night, Alicia is run over by a car and becomes comatose. By mere chance, Benigno is assigned to Alicia, much to the surprise of her father. But since Benigno’s services are the best, he hires him and a colleague permanently to tend for Alicia. Benigno also tells Dr. Roncero that he is gay, possibly so that Alicia's father won't suspect his love for her, or possibly so that he won't question Benigno's particular attachment to her.
Benigno keeps telling Marco that he should talk to Lydia because, despite the fact that they are in a coma, women understand and react to men’s problems. Eventually, Marco learns from el Niño de Valencia that Lydia and el Niño had decided to be together again, and that she intended to tell Marco. So Marco finds himself alone again. As he is about to leave, he comes into Alicia’s room, looking for Benigno, but he instead finds himself opening his heart out to her, despite his scepticism over Benigno’s theories. Benigno and Marco leave the hospital and, in the parking lot, Benigno tells Marco of his plans to marry Alicia: Marco is taken aback, telling his friend that Alicia is basically dead and cannot express her will in any manner. But Benigno does not hear any reason. During a routine review at the hospital, the supervisors notice that Alicia has missed several periods; since this is a common occurrence with people in a coma, they do not think twice over it. In reality, Alicia was raped months before and is pregnant, Benigno is the main suspect and is later sent to prison.
Marco has left Spain to write a book about travelling. Months later, in Jordan, he reads in a newspaper that Lydia has finally died, having never awakened from her coma. He phones the hospital, looking for Benigno, only to hear that Benigno does not work there any more. Marco manages to talk to another nurse whom he had befriended; she tells him that Benigno is now in prison for the alleged rape of Alicia. Marco returns to Spain and visits Benigno, who asks him to hire a new lawyer and find out what happened to Alicia. Marco stays in Benigno’s apartment and sees that Alicia has awakened during or after delivering a stillborn baby. Following the urging of Benigno's lawyer, Marco does not tell Benigno about Alicia's unexpected recovery. Desperate, Benigno writes a farewell letter to Marco and takes a large quantity of pills, to try to "escape" into a coma, thus reuniting with Alicia. He dies of an overdose.
Meanwhile, Alicia has begun rehabilitation to recover her ability to walk and dance. The film ends in the same theatre where it began, where Marco and Alicia meet by chance.

Tags: psychological, dramatic, flashback, melodrama, tragedy, romantic

Review:
A talent to make movies that are not always easy to watch, but certainly thought provoking, beautiful, compelling and stylish.'Hable Con Ella' tells the story of two men who are in love with a woman in a coma and how they both handle this in a different way.
Spanish Writer-Director Pedro Almodovar is a filmmaker that always captures strange, and honest moments within his characters emotions-especially women.
Such films as "All About My Mother", and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" support this, but in Almodovar's latest film "Talk To Her"--he does something a little different by making men the protagasnits.
However beneath all the brilliance is a lovely, sweet film that is charming in its own little way.Almodovar crafts "Talk to Her" with a style that is unique in color and tone, and it has behavioral exposition that is far more mature and tonally sustained than anything he's done before.
The movie's great, bad-boy conceit is that its two heroes, wounded-in-love journalist Marco (Dario Grandinetti) and naive nurse Benigno (Javier Camara), are hopelessly in love with women they can't communicate with -- and that really gives the two guys something to talk about, as well as a base for the strongest of friendships.
Not that their women are intentionally unreachable; both, you see, are in comas.By the end of this crazy, heart-thrilling tale, Almodovar has delivered us through un unexpecting film of humor, human emotions, specific human connections, remorse, and philosophies.
It is he who gives Marco, with whom he strikes up a friendship, the eponymous advice: talk, and your heartfelt monologue will be more meaningful and therapeutic than any marital dialogue.Seeing Almodóvar's latest film was one of the most pleasurable cinema experiences I have had for some time.
Here, finally, was an interweaving of the lives of disparate characters that was not only unabashed in its excess (it always had been), it actually made you care  deeply.More bullfightingAt first sight Hable con ella looks like being another case study in that famously offbeat, not to say queer, book of life according to Pedro.
The sensual nature of the film and Almodovar's ability to play with the beauty of the body and the strange intimacy of the characters work to perfection.
Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar once again creates a cinematic masterpiece in his ongoing quest to bring together the war of the sexes as a harmonic convergence this time in a somewhat surreal matter involving a male nurse (Camara) and a tough yet sensitive journalist (Grandinetti) who form a unique friendship when his girlfriend, a bullfighter  (Flores), is gored and sent into a coma landing her in the hospital where Camara is taking care of his beloved' (Watling), a dancer, who he has fallen in love with her when he (in a sense) was stalking her.
We have sympathy for the men anyway.The acting is good, a very intelligent story and a great direction makes this film one of the year's best.
In between those silences, Benigno Martin (Javier Camera) and soon Marco Zuluaga (Dario Grandinetti) use words as weapons: weapons against Solitude first, against Death and against MadnessYes Madness is another theme in this movie but not the 'dark madness', not the 'killing madness', but the type that is so close to tenderness and common sense that it becomes almost normality and that's exactly where Mr. Almodovar succeeds..
Almodovar successful melodrama about two comatose women and the men who love them , including his ordinary rare characters , twisted situations and eccentric events .
Two men Benigno (Javier Camera ,this role is based on Pedro Almodóvar's close friend Roberto Benigni) , and Marco (Dario Grandinetti) share an odd friendship while they care for two women , Alicia (Leonor Watling) and Lydia (Rosario Flores) in very different ways , who are both in deep comas .Agreeable film full of feeling , outlandish characters full of desire and love , haunting mood-pieces , unforgettable as well as outrageous images , and sense of style .
This one-of-a-kind picture was realized in his peculiar style by Pedro Almodovar ; he often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular story lines though here he directs a special melodrama , including his ordinary touches .
I am really sorry to say this film is an example of an auteur's ego preempting fundamentals of good movie making, namely character and story development.
It's like a sequence out of One Life to Live.I could go on, but to summarize this film is at best a string of interesting (some beautiful - Pina Bausch) scenes and not really worth investing more time in discussing.
I think Almodovar is portraying a common male fantasy by portraying a Benigno obsessed and in love with a beautiful comatose woman.
I think you can guess by now where the film is heading, and when the ultimate act is committed, Almodovar presents it in such a way as to show the audience how it could be interpreted as an act of love and selflessness.
Benigno's love for Alicia is full and real, and he treats her as if she is not in a coma, but Marco is a realist that can't seem to feel that Lydia is anything but dead.
Marco cares for Benigno as his friend, even when things are at their worst, and it is his love for Benigno - a wounded, sensitive, and needy human being, that gives this film its soul..
As it says on the blurb of the DVD box, this is an `affirming story of two tragic women and the men who love them'.There is a great deal to admire and enjoy in this film - it has an excellent cast, an excellent storyline, and of course - an excellent director.
This was quite refreshing because I find a lot of films to be very predictable, but `Talk To Her' isn't like that.From start to finish, `Talk To Her' is very captivating - helped greatly by the central four characters, Benigno Martín (Javier Cámara), Alicia Roncero (Leonor Watling), Marco Zuluaga (Darío Grandinetti) and Lydia González (Rosario Flores), all of whom are greatly interesting, even though there seemingly isn't much room for a great deal of character development within this film.
The whole thing is just a joy to watch - it has an excellent plot (greatly written and interesting from start to finish), a brilliant cast of talented actors/actresses, the film looks and sounds great (its got a great soundtrack; great music), and it's got an excellent director in the shape of Pedro Almodóvar; this is a gem of a film and it sincerely deserves all the awards and good reviews that it has received.
The story of two men in love with women that are in comas and how they deal with their personal tragedies.Pedro Almodovar makes interesting films that are different but not so very different that they alienate the (world) cinema audience.
The black and white sexy skit is strange and looks out of place - like Almodovar is trying to spice up the soup.Clearly many are getting drawn inside his work and the praise of so many critics (paid or otherwise) is notable, but I notice they all see something different which suggests that they are just using the movie to get across their own agendas.
Of course, what Benigno does seems wrong, but its interesting that the movie doesn't judge him and seriously considers his arguments, and in the end it is he who can awaken the girl.Acting is great overall, I especially liked Geraldine Chaplin because she is such an interesting person and actress.
Geraldine Chaplin even makes a long appearance here as Watling's former dance instructor and Almodovar pays homage to the silent film era in the most unusual ways with a sequence that is too hard to talk about or explain (you will just have to see it for yourself and draw your own conclusions).
Pedro Almodovar's Hable con ella (Talk to Her) will likely be one of the best film's I'll have seen from the director, if not the best so far out of (regrettably) only the handful so far.
This is a credit to Almodovar's actors, some of them he's worked with other times (the best being Javier Camera as Beningo, a supporting character who's at the part of the aching, disturbing heart of the film).
The story line drags on about two men who form a somewhat freakish friendship at the hospital where the women they love are in comas.
The two men meet, comment about an encounter at the play, and in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, their stories get woven together in a strange twist of fate and destiny.Director-writer Pedro Almodóvar's double nomination for "Talk to Her" is undoubtedly deserving.
But in the end, these two still befriend each other, and even after Benigno's disturbing pull at impregnating the comatose woman, we still sense some sort of connection between the two.A definite example of how European cinema is so important in modern life, and just how a complicated situation can turn even more complicated, "Talk to Her" is a gem in both storytelling, directing and acting.
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.Pedro Almodovar has consistently made good films.
Benigno (Javier Camera) is a male nurse who takes care of Alicia (Leonor Watling) a young dancer in a coma, to whom he is deeply attached and in a slightly concerning way.
We see the history of both those relationships, but it is that which develops between Marco and Benigno that is most interesting as they spend many days in the clinic together.The story takes us to many different points in time.
Sharing these stories and their passion for women who might never love them, the two form a bond.Almodovar's film is also big on art.
They communicate important ideas and emotions in a less explicit manner, acting almost as a substitute for direct communication between an artist and his or her audience.That's where the beauty of "Hable Con Ella" lies, although your attention will be focused on the peculiarity of these relationships and the strange ways in which Almodovar presents love and relationships to us -- plus of course how the events unfold.
Recently I have become a huge fan of Pedro Almodovar's work.This film, "Talk to her (Hable con ella)," along with "All About MyMother," are creative pieces of genius that should not beoverlooked.
Having characters fall into a coma has long been a favoured plot device for the writers of soap operas, and were this film made earlier in his career you would expect director Pedro Aldovomar to layer on the kitsch stylings and hysterical trappings of the soap world.
Truly a wondrous moment; unrepeatable.And with Javier Aguirresarobe doing the camera-work, good photography is guaranteed: he does not simply see what he is shooting, but feels it, captures the atmosphere.Such is the gift of the maestro who can plan a story and knows how to tell it; but at the same time interweaving so many sidelines, so many other little scenes and details intermingling into the main events with subtle touches ....
Like all of the Almodovar films I've seen, this one is overrated in my opinion -- not alone because of the weird premise and the improbable friendship of two men based on nothing more than the fact that they are both emotionally involved with women in a vegetative state.
Easily categorized as a drama, Almodovar plays with structures with elements of flashbacks and ambiguous story lines about the film's central characters.The film begins with two men, who don't know each other, sitting next to each other, watching a ballet.
Benigno is in love with her and talks to her about the ballet, while massaging and washing her body.The other man is an Argentinean travel writer, Marco (Dario Grandinetti), who is currently working on an assignment on a female bullfighter, Lydia (Rosario Flores).
During the time suspended within the walls of the clinic, the life of these four characters flows in all directions, leading all of them to an unexpected destinyNominated for 2 Categories, the movie won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - Pedro Almodovar and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Spain.In the roles of the two central characters, Javier Camera and Dario Grandinetti are brilliant, straight men at their most vulnerable and torturous.
He is innocent because the kind of relationship he has with Alicia is the only one he had ever had.Marco functions more like a reflector of the story, as without him we would be tempted to see Benigno from one light only and consider him a sick man, a psychopath, which he is (but he is other things too).
Talk to Her, directed by Pedro Almodovar, is about the friendship between 2 men caring for 2 comatose women.
When Alicia is severely injured in an auto accident that leaves her in a coma, Benigno discovers she has been admitted to the hospital where he works, and he spends his days caring for a woman he now deeply loves but has barely met.
Alicia and Lydia are both housed in the same ward of the same hospital, and in time Benigno and Marco become close friends, bonding in their shared devotion to women who cannot return their affection..
In the hospital Marco meets Benigno (Javier Cámara), who is taking care of Alicia (Leonor Watling), who also is in a coma.
Benigno (Javier Camera) has spend most of his life caring for his recently deceased mother even though he's a virgin, he feels deeply in love in Alicia (Leonor Watling), a ballet dancer, who's dance studio he watches from his window.
Sometimes I think they're exquisite; other times I think they're glorified soap operas."Talk to Her" is one of the better Almodovar films I've seen, an imaginative and touching story about an unlikely friendship between two men who both are caring for women in comas.
This film is about man's love for women, and has influences in Spanish, German, and Brazilian art forms.Some of the movie is spent on bullfighting, as one of the main characters is a female bullfighter.
The actions in the ring are both beautiful and tragic.But, the film is mostly about two men who love two women who tragically end up in comas.
Complimenting and at times outdoing him is other lead Javier Cámara, who you learn to love in spite of his terrible actions as he always appears so innocent and pure that you wish the world could relate to him.The women do not have much to say but they are both gorgeous and give off deep passion(Rosario Flores as Lydia) to curious flirtation(Leonor Watling as Alicia).The Spanish music works well for several moods of the film, creating both tragic and uplifting scenes.
The hospital is simple in spite of what happens there, while Benigno's apartment is ornate, with little taking place there.Almodovar creates an engaging film that works off its characters and unorthodox story about unusual but justifiable love..
Pedro Almodovar's dynamic direction, shot selection and creative verve turns a simple story of obsession into a gripping feature-length drama laced with intrigue and black humour.As with many of his films, Talk to Her is devoted to sexually ambiguous male protagonists.
Benigno, an oddball who spent early adulthood tending his ailing mother, dedicates all his time to caring for another comatose patient, ballet dancer Alicia, upon whom he has a somewhat unhealthy fixation.Much of the film explores the benefits of talking to brain-dead patients in the hope of channelling positive energy and triggering miracle recoveries, but this is far from inspiring, feel-good fare.
Faced with such overtly sexual thoughts, Benigno's already questionable motives for tending Alicia spill over into physical action, and what was once a quirky, off-beat tale of love and friendship, now becomes a powerful study of mental instability and serious crime.This is tricky for the viewer to deal with for while we have previously enjoyed Benigno's disarming comic naivety, his sinister exploits make us feel duped and guilty.But an Almodovar film is not meant to be a comfortable ride and while a lot of the credit must go to a nicely layered performance by Javier Camera as Benigno, it is the direction that lifts this movie above the mediocre.
Almodovar's highly acclaimed drama tells of the relationship which builds between two very different men as the women they care for lie in, possibly permanent, comas.Almodovar has said that male characters tend to inspire him to write tragic stories, whilst female characters inspire comedies.
Darío Grandinetti puts in a good performance as Marco, and the film continues to intrigue as the relationship between Marco and Benigno begins to develop as well.Pedro Almodóvar's direction and screenplay are both incredible.
Pedro Almodovar's `Talk to Her' tells the tale of two men who become friends when the women they love both slip into comas.
The story is about the friendship between two men, Benigno (Javier Camara) and Marco (Dario Grandinetti).
Of course the film is not mainly about the friendship that grows between Marco and Benigno (stunning performance by Javier Cámara), but rather about losses, true love and weird miracles (life is so capricious!).
Let me begin my review by saying this, even if you are a person who enjoys foreign entertainment, this film may not be your cup of tea.' Director Pedro Almodóvar (`All About My Mother,' `Live Flesh') explores the deepest emotions of loneliness, love and friendship, and weaves a story that is both beautiful and to a certain extent, disturbing.
The first is the story of Benigno Martín (Javier Camara) who is a nurse tending to a woman named Alicia (Leonor Watling), whom he falls deeply in love with.
The second story involves a man named Marco Zuluaga (Dario Grandinetti) who is a writer who falls in love with a female bullfighter, Lydia González (Rosario Flores).