tom van de Bospoort Another brilliant Almodovar film, with its gritty, transvestite, scenes and very plasticly shot, like all brilliant Almodovar films, though not as good as Talk to her, on a weired way.A must see for all Almodovar lovers, (the best director, in my opinion), Personally I would like to see him using these brilliant actors more, and also, on a tangent use Javier Bardem more (the best actor, in my opinion) This film had a bit of everything, and a large bit of that twisted Almodovar brain in it.A tasty bit of film, with a bit of sex scenes and a feeling left of mystery in the story from start to finish.A clear 8/10 and a must see.

April Brees Pedro Almodóvar's La mala educación is often summarized as a tragic tale of Franco-era childhood abuses suffered by two boys at the hands of their catholic priest. However it's also a story of ambiguity between traditional behavioral perceptions. Almodavar moves with fluidity, telling a story within a story while questioning traditional perceptions of roles such as the victim. In this story victims are plentiful and who we see as a victim can quickly become the victimizer. The manipulator dissolves into the manipulated.Two boys central to the plot, Enrique and Ignacio, are separated by space and time both longing to reconnect. Ignacio, an aspiring actor shows up with a movie script based off of their childhood experiences and abuses by their catholic Priest, Father Manolo. Enrique, a successful film director, is intrigued by the story but doesn't feel the same bond with Ignacio they once shared. Enrique has a hard time even recognizing Ignacio as his close childhood friend and first love.Enrique while researching for the movie script encounters dark details of betrayals and deceptions suffered as well as perpetrated by Ignacio. As a boy Ignacio was a victim and years later the tables had turned. Ignacio flipped upside down the balance of established roles by blackmailing Padre Manolo and in an unforeseen twist of events Padre Manolo transitions from the manipulating abuser to the manipulated pawn.In the end, the Ignacio that Enrique was desperately searching to find would turn out to be someone lost to him forever, sadly unrecognizable in the man he had recently reconnected with.

Katlin Moore La mala educación is a dark film concerning the long-term effects of pederasty in the priesthood. The sexual abuse of one young boy, Ignacio, affects the lives of all of the characters. The storyline is very disjointed and confusing which complements the confusing subject matter.The key elements in this film are desire, unrequited love, and the willingness to do anything to accomplish goals. Many of the characters in the film are not good people. One is a pederastic priest, another a desperate junkie, but the worst of all is Angél, a young actor who is willing to go to unbelievable lengths to get what he wants. He is guilty of many transgressions, including deception, manipulation, assuming his dead brother's identity, and murder. Gael García Bernal, the actor that plays Angél, is the glue that holds the film together. His portrayal is simultaneously bone chilling and heartbreaking.I believe that Enrique Goded, the young gay film maker is a reference to Pedro Almodóvar. He is the most human of the characters. He is not a monster. He is the victim of the beautiful and determined Angél.Neither the cinematography nor the soundtrack is remarkable. The costumes are appropriate to the late 1970's and do not lend nor distract from the film at large. As in most Almodóvar films, the most developed aspect is the acting. This film lacks one of Almodóvar's common themes of women banding together. While such a relationship would not make sense in the film, it seems empty without it.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews OK, so you'd have to make sure that they could all handle the subject matter, but once you're past that, it's perfect. This is only the second Almodovar movie that I watch(and I haven't seen the other version of this, either), the first being Volver, which I *loved*. I've heard that his work is usually divisive... I guess so, because this one simply did not grab me. It's not the overall story; in fact, I have to commend the man on an impeccable job done on the structure, the sheer fact that you can *follow* this thing, with several narratives, is a genuine accomplishment, and I personally enjoyed immensely how the director in this was trying to make motion pictures out of real events, right down to finding inspiration in newspapers, to see the artistic process, although I suppose that not everyone will necessarily feel the same way as I did about it. I have no problem with exploring pedophilia in the Church, rather, I consider it vital to do so. It's probably not that this is a crime mystery, and I hadn't figured out the solution before it was revealed. The plot is good, and it moves along nicely. I can only applaud the acting, even the kids are utterly and completely convincing. The characters are well-written, thoroughly developed, credible and three-dimensional. This is put together well, the cinematography and editing are smooth and clearly had effort and talent behind them. You know what? I don't think I can define why this didn't click with me. However, I'm not going to take it out on something as expertly made as this. It wasn't for me, that doesn't mean it won't be for you. If what I've described here sounds appealing, give it a chance. There is a lot of pretty graphic(apparently, originally downright explicit)sexuality and nudity, a little disturbing content and some infrequent strong language in this. Also, for anyone bothered by such, this is about transvestitism and homosexuality. The DVD comes with four and a half minutes of deleted scenes, a handful of galleries, a minute and 45 seconds behind the scenes montage, a theatrical trailer, a teaser and a TV spot. I recommend this to any fan of drama. 8/10