The Popkorn Junkie :: Bad Education

      Since "All About My Mother" hit theatres in 1999, critics everywhere have been praising Pedro Almodovar as a brilliant filmmaker, and amongst the greatest Spanish directors in the history of cinema. I would not agree with that. I have always found his films to be less than visually appealing and too jumbled for normal coherency. "Talk to Her" was a decent effort, but was not close to the modern miracle critics praised it as being. For my money, I prefer Alejandro Amenabar or Alfonso Cuaron. They have a unique visual style that is present in all of their works. Almodovar's work just kind of sits there. And his latest vanity trip -- billing himself with the single name 'Almodovar' -- is beyond ridiculous. However, despite my grievances, I could not resist watching Gael Garcia Bernal for two hours, especially since I recently declared him the sexiest human being to ever live. "Bad Education" was suppose to be the film that changed my opinions about Almodovar. It was suppose to be a miraculous as people had been saying it was. What I saw instead was a jumbled up, mixed bag of a movie -- fine performances, but very little else.

      This plot is as complicated as they come. We first see Gael Garcia Bernal as Ignacio, who reconnects with an old classmate, Enrique (Fele Martinez) to try and get his screenplay published. He is now an actor and has changed his name to Angel. He leaves the manuscript with Enrique and leaves. The next few scenes are told to us as Enrique is reading the screenplay, which is based on real events and centers around the Catholic school where both Ignacio and Enrique spent their childhood. We then see a series of flashbacks that show him as Zahara, a transvestite working in a dance club. In full drag, we watch Ignacio and his friend attempt to blackmail a priest, Father Manolo (Daniel Gimenez Cacho). We immediately cut to the present, with Enrique deciding he wants to produce and direct the script. At this point, all of the secrets begin funneling to the surface. We find out the dark history of Father Manolo, the truth behind Ignacio -- if that is his real name -- and we even get little subtle hints to what the Catholic Church does best -- sexual harassment and elaborate cover-ups. But, don't think for a second this is a film about corruption within the Church -- it is anything but. That is but a subplot to the real story of friendship, love, and betrayal.

      Gael Garcia Bernal plays three characters in this film, and nails them all to perfection. As Ignacio, he is energetic, demanding, and well intending. The sexual scenes between he and his male counterparts are not glorified, and Almodovar does a good job of making them look as dreadful as they appear. As Juan, he is mild, timid, and moderately sweet. With the beard gone and the drag in the garbage, Bernal looks like a teenager almost -- young and innocent. And, as Zahara, he is as skanky as a transvestite should appear on screen -- unclean, rabid, and resembling something out of a nightmare. These three performances compliment one another because they are essentially the same person told through different perspectives and different re-tellings. I was disappointed slightly in that Bernal is so unnaturally gorgeous, yet he manages to become something so ugly and so disgusting that it will forever impact my ranking of him so highly on my list. Transvestites are hideous, no matter how good they look otherwise. Fele Martinez turns in a memorable performances as Enrique, but it is Daniel Gimenez Cacho who really shines as the former priest turned publisher who becomes so hopelessly locked by his obsessions that they ruin his life.

The visual styles here is not very appealing, and under better hands, would have added a little more depth and creativity to a film with so much plot and so many twists. Almodovar was obviously going for some kind of sexual film noir, but the basic shooting style takes away from that enormously. The scene with Martinez and Bernal at the swimming pool is very well done and showed glimpses into how the film could have looked, had that technique been followed throughout the film. Instead, we are given this generic cinematography for a plot that is far too complicated for such a lasse faire type of approach. When Martinez is leaning up against his gate at the end of the film and the tiles start coming to life, revealing the epilogue of the film, it made me upset because it was as if Almodovar was ego-tripping...showing us what he could have done, had he been blessed with the consistent talent to do so. This is why I am always puzzled when people tell me how amazing his pictures are.

      In summation, "Bad Education" is primarily worth watching for the phenomenal performances from Gael Garcia Bernal and Daniel Gimenez Cacho. Bernal is wonderful to look at as Juan, but rarely otherwise. Of course, that is not the only reason I went to see the film, but it was like ice cream on the cake. My hope is that 'Almodovar' will take a cue from a director like Amenabar, whose cinematography on "The Sea Inside" was nothing short of amazing. He did not do the shooting himself, but he sure as hell knew whom to hire to make it so. "Bad Education" is dark, sinister, and sometimes too harsh in the way it deals with human nature. Villains are not clear cut, heroes are non-existent, and the ending of the film really brings little closure. It keeps us interested, always keeps us guessing, and rarely loses its touch of mystery. However, all of those positives are not enough to make this a wholly satisfying adventure. I guess I was just hoping for something more.

-- Billy Ray ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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