I must preface this review by saying that this is my favourite film ever, and Pedro Almodovar is my favourite director, so forgive me if I seem a bit over-enthusiastic. The film is a drama, spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. The details of the plot are essentially tragic, but it does not have a depressing feel to it. The sadness inherent in the characters and plot does not feel gloomy or grim - the sheer visual beauty of the film does not allow for that.
The plot revolves around two couples, journalist Marco and bullfighter Lydia, and coma nurse Benigno and coma patient Alicia, a ballet student who met with an accident on a rainy day. When Lydia also falls into a coma, Marco and Benigno become friends, talking to each other about their respective lovers in the setting of the coma clinic. The relationships between the two couples become a lot more complicated as the plot develops and things take turns for the worse and better as time goes on, but I don't want to give spoilers... The film has a complicated time scale, dodging between the present, future and past, but this never becomes confusing.
This film is beautiful on all levels, from the deeply sympathetic portryals of the characters, to the deep, bright colours of the visuals and the amazing Spanish landscapes typical of Almodovar, to the portrayal of dance and song. It features the dancer Pina Bausch, who dominates the beginning and the end of the film in entirely different ways, at the beginning in a bizarre yet fascinating sequence set to The Plaint by Henry Purcell, and ends in a romantic dance of couples. The film also features Caetano Veloso, the famous Brazilian singer, with a version of the Spanish song Cucurrucu Paloma, which I think is the best moment in the film. There is also a strange silent film in the middle called 'El Amante Meguante' - 'The Shrinking Lover', which is utterly bizarre and wonderful.
The dialogue, the characters, the visuals, the music and dance, all of this comes together to make a perfect film, one which will make you think and above all leave you feeling happy. (It does have a happy ending, in a way.)
More details
Soundtrack
Outstanding
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
where Benigno works. Lydia Marco's girlfriend and a bullfighter by profession has been gored and is in a coma. It so happens that Benigno is looking after another ...
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
