CATRIONA PAUL at the movies.

THE FILM THAT opened Cannes, receiving many stunning reviews, is Bad Education by director Pedro Almodóvar. His previous films include All About My Mother and Talk to Her. His latest hit stars Gael García Bernal, star of Y tu Mama También and Amores Perros. Impeccable credentials, but does Almodóvar have an audience beyond the critics?
  
The plot is not for dummies. A director meets an out-of-work actor who claims they were childhood friends. Something about the actor doesn’t ring true. Nevertheless, he accepts a script which the actor says is based on their shared experience at a Catholic boarding school. It tells of two youngsters whose boyhood crush is interrupted by the desire of a corrupt priest, Father Manolo. A chance meeting in adult life inspires one of them to blackmail the priest who then takes steps to protect the honour of the Church and the school.
  
But how much of the script is true and how much may yet become truth? Questions remain unanswered until Father Manolo makes an appearance on set with revelations that somehow recast him as a victim.
 
Telling its tale in a mixture of flashback, re-enactment and present day, confusing characters, and pulling a twist out of nowhere, the film is compelling. It may also move you with an unsettling beauty – the collegio has a loveliness at odds with the dark secret of abuse. Perhaps, what is most unexpected, is laughter and lightness amid the desperate themes. But where the audience can’t easily laugh – and some may wince – is when actor and director become lovers.
  
Though unexpectedly watchable given the subject matter, the film remains far from mainstream. Gay sex will deter many and the grim themes of abuse and revenge won’t win popularity. But film lovers will respect the artistry of Almodóvar and Bad Education will undoubtedly have its fans.
  
BAD EDUCATION (LA MALA EDUCACIÓN)
General release, selected cinemas.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho Francisco Boira, Javier Cámara, Raúl García , Nacho Pérez, Juan Fernández, Alberto Ferreiro, Lluís Homar, Roberto Hoyas, Francisco Maestre, Petra Martínez
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 105 mins
Country: Spain
Language: Spanish
Year: 2004
 
  
© Catriona Paul, 2004