Bad Education (2004)

Have you ever watched a film based on the three sentence description written in a TV guide? If you have then maybe you know just how misleading they can be. I seem to remember reading that this was a tale of two characters troubled school days. That, in conjunction with the name made me think I was in for a kind of Spanish language version of Boyz in the Hood (yes it is another subtitled film). How wrong could I be! Maybe I should have known more about the director, Pedro Almodovar and his fondness for exploring taboo subjects and sexual identity. Maybe I should have not just been an assumptive ass. Regardless, this film surprised me on several occasions.

The plot is almost as confusing as the main characters themselves. Struggling actor Angel (Gael Garcia Bernal) visits childhood friend and successful director Enrique (Fele Martinez) looking for work. Angel leaves him with a script that tells the story of two young boy’s love affair at a repressive Catholic boarding school, an abusive priest and their strange reunion many years later. This script touches a nerve with Enrique and life seems to imitate the script as the actor and director’s stories also begin to unfold.

I found the story oddly gripping as it cuts from the present day to the script of Angel's story, which is itself split over two time periods. Essentially we have 3 narratives to negotiate, which are clouded more by the question mark that emerges over Angel's true identity. Also did I mention that Angel was a transsexual? The film constantly plays with identity, whether it is sexual or literal, it all builds to an engrossing tale made vivid by the beautiful cinematography of Almodovar. Despite there being some very dark themes, mainly involving the church, the film is shot in dazzling colour. It skips seamlessly between the reality and the fictitious, keeping the viewers attention as you try to unravel the threads.

I should probably point out here that if you are put off by a bit of male nudity then you should probably skip this one. If you are going to be offended by a transvestite giving head to a nearly unconscious man while her partner in crime is about to steal his motorbike then stay away! If you are not bothered by such things then there is a lot to enjoy about this film. There is a lot more here than originally meets the eye. Layered, dark, melancholy, beautiful and tragic all at once this could leave you as confused as the main characters but exhilarated nonetheless.

7/10