KCTribune: BROKEN EMBRACES

Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar (“Volver”) is a cinema fanatic as well as a major director, and he’s layered his latest work with canny tributes to many other films…including his own.

“Broken Embraces” is a love letter to the movies as well as an engaging film noir melodrama. Almodovar’s potboiler doesn’t always work but his love of the cinematic art form is certainly contagious.

The story-within-a-story deals with a Spanish screenwriter by the name of Harry Caine, played by Lluis Homar (“Bad Education”). That’s not his real name, but a moniker he cribbed from movies featuring Orson Wells.

Harry’s real name is Mateo Blanco, the name he used when he was a successful film director. Something happened fourteen years earlier that left Mateo blind and opting to use a pseudonym.

Perhaps he suffering from a form of amnesia or simply doesn’t want to remember the past. In any case, he rarely acknowledges his previous career.

Harry’s faithful assistant Judit (Blanca Portillo from “Volver”) and her son, Diego (Tamar Novas from “Goya’s Ghosts”) work for him. After Diego suffers an accidental overdose, Harry cares for him. Prodded by the young man, Harry painfully recalls his past.

Through flashbacks, we learn the tragic story of an actress named Lena (Penelope Cruz from “Nine”) and of her star-crossed romance with Mateo/Harry. It is a tale of jealousy, betrayal and, quite possibly, murder.

Almodovar’s story jumps back and forth between these plotlines, delivering an entertaining if convoluted melodrama.

It’s a little ironic that Cruz is currently starring in two movies about movie directors. “Nine” is self-conscious and pretentious. “Broken Embraces” is pretentious, too, but in a far more agreeable and accessible fashion.

Cruz is stunning. She not only demonstrates a seemingly effortless grace, but also has the captivating beauty that makes it easy to see why the men in this film become obsessed with her. Almodovar could have done a lot worse in chose of muse.

Movie buffs will pick up on not-so-subtle salutes to the work filmmakers like Hitchcock and Rossellini and stars like Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman. His use of color, sound and editing not only propel the movie but also slyly comments upon it.

But without Cruz to give the movie some emotional resonance, Almodovar’s Valentine to the movies would mostly be example of style over substance. (R) Rating: ***1/2

* Avoid at all costs
** Only if you're bored
*** Good movie
**** Well worth your time
***** Be sure to see it