Bad Education (La Mala educación)

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Bad Education (La Mala educación)

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Bad Education (La Mala educación)

Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Fele Martínez, Gael García Bernal, Javier Cámara, Leonor Watling

Two children, Ignacio and Enrique, know love, the movies and fear in a religious school at the beginning of the 60's. Father Manolo, director of the school and its professor of literature, is witness ...( read more  read more... )to and part of these discoveries. The three are followed through the next few decades, their reunion marking life and death.

Id: 5437822

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Bad Education (La Mala educación) Recent Reviews
  • binky013
    September 2, 2009
    binky013
    So, Ssabee, I notice nothing in your comments that answers the most important question in the movie: beard or no beard? As Gael Garcia's number-one fan club president, I figured this would be the first thing you'd comment on : )

    There is no doubt in my mind that Gael Garc

    ...( read more)ia is a good-looking young man, but after seeing this Almodóvar outing -- no pun intended -- I can definitely affirm that Gael Garcia is also absolutely one of the most frighteningly beautiful young women Almodovar has delivered to the screen.

    Hey, if you're young and have all the time in the world to wade through this narrative morass, more power to you. Me, I'm way too old to care that much about something this ugly. I don't know if Almodovar's treatment of homosexuals is worse than his treatment of transvestites in this project, but I really don't care. It's beyond grotesque.

    Miss this one if you don't have all the time in the world left to watch movies.
  • susanriley
    May 31, 2009
    susanriley
    My second Almodovar film. His narrative style, which seems largely akin to Spanish film, is interesting, volleying between slightly soap opera-esque and art house. There is something kind of cartoonish about his works which can be kind of endearing but sometimes falls a little...( read more) short on emotional impact.
  • kevinjoy98
    May 19, 2009
    kevinjoy98
    Two children, Ignacio and Enrique, know love, the movies and fear in a religious school at the beginning of the 60's. Father Manolo, director of the school and its professor of literature, is witness to and part of these discoveries. The three are followed through the next few de...( read more)cades, their reunion marking life and death.
  • 76Majikat
    February 10, 2009
    76Majikat
    A bizarre tale, which was a little confusing at times, but of course all makes sense eventually. It possibly requires more than one viewing though to really put the pieces of the puzzle together correctly.

    Very typical in the sense of Almodovar though, to bring us an unusual ...( read more)topic, which many Directors wouldn't have delved into.
  • ebs90
    January 16, 2009
    ebs90
    La Mala Educacion is a fascinating, dark crime film by Pedro Almodovar, in which he once again confirms that he is the master of style, pure and simple. Everything in La Mala Educacion is stylized, even though everything and everyone is rather seedy and obscure. Almodovar makes e...( read more)xcellent use of bright colors that pop from the screen, a Hitchcockian score, and excellent cinematography to lead his audience into this mysterious, bizarre world created by the characters.

    Ignacio and Enrique meet in a religious boarding school in the 1960s. One of the heads of the school, Father Manolo, "falls in love" with Ignacio and is also very much aware of the two boys' love for each other. He does his best to keep them apart. Enrique is taken out of school, and the two continue to lead separate lives until, twenty years later, Ignacio seeks out his old friend, who now owns a film studio, to show him a script he's been working on. It's the story of their lives, and the revenge they ultimately inflict on Father Manolo. Enrique is somewhat excited to have found again the first love of his life, but for some reason he isnt' very convinced. Something has changed; Ignacio seems very different.

    Among the many layers there is to Bad Education and the various dimensions of the story, there is an interesting dynamic between the two leads. Once they re-unite after all the years of separation, the natural thing to them appears to be starting from where they left off. So they spend time together, and even sleep together, but neither of them is very convinced. Almodovar has described them as a romantic union without attraction, two people who have sex but are not attracted to each other. They relate to the ghosts of what they once were, or what they think the other was.

    I loved the storyline because Almodovar incorporated the movie-in-a-movie sub-plot and it works very well. I wonder if it says something of his own opinion about filmmaking. It's impossible to get lost in the story because he augments the width of the image to mark when we are watching the movie and when we are watching what is really happening; it is obvious that his objective isn't "to blur the line between fiction and reality"... don't think you're getting Inland Empire-style or anything. Other than that, the plot is very noir, it's very classic but with certain Almodovar touches to make it even darker. The style is heavy but it doesn't choke the substance.

    Gael Garcia Bernal is great as Ignacio/Juan/Zahara. He plays eccentric characters, or characters with secrets, and he does it with great talent and credibility. For such a small person, he has immense screen presence and magnetism. His appearance and his attitude justify Enrique's incomprehensible desire to resume their relationship in spite of his doubt. But Fele Martinez plays a much more "ordinary" character and manages to make him much more extraordinary. I've always thought him a very versatile actor, but terribly underrated. Both actors deliver incredible performances, and they're the highlights of the film.

    The ending was rather abrupt for me, I think it needed a clearer closure, but the rest of the movie is a fantastic noir film in bright colors, definitely worth a watch, or several.
  • kunam88
    December 9, 2009
    kunam88
    the general consensus is,this is almodovar weakest work in this decade (and that's already counting his recent Broken embraces in).well,sadly,i'll have to agree.and the fact that i'm a little bit skeptical with a gay-themed film,didn't help this film either
  • samasookie
    December 3, 2009
    samasookie
    well done script! gael demonstrate once again his undoubtfull talent as an actor and that he can perform any character he wants, plus! looks sooo' sexy as a transexual that it is really scary for me haha! but talking more about the movie, i love the scenery, the shots, the plot ...( read more)(pedophilia, confussion, love, revenge), anyways.. you haveee to see it!
  • dex5
    November 25, 2009
    dex5
    Juan el taxi te esta esperando.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    An amazing mystery/revenge story. I was totally blown away with the complex nature of the film. Almodovar's style really shines in this, due to the fact that he strayed from his usual upbeat tone and really went with something dark. Gael Garcia Bernal was great and made the movie...( read more) all the more enjoyable, convincing me that his character was much less horrible than he should've been. I really appreciate the bold choices used, if only more filmmakers were this brave.
  • jeffsvenegas
    November 5, 2009
    jeffsvenegas
    lies deception and not so innocent sex is only a little of what Angel is doing to keep Ignacio's secret past from his friend Enrique.
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