1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

As Spanish cinema grew it diverted from historical epics to a majority leftist directors

opposed to French dictatorship, and from this oppression was born the “democratic” era of film,

giving way to more controversial topics. Almodovar’s entire film hinges on controversy with the

misguided actions of one of its main characters. We are invited to explore the psyche of a

troubled and unusual young man as he awkwardly tries to navigate exploring his sexuality – with

a woman in a coma.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content.

Peter Bradshaw’s article for The Guardian begins by comparing “Talk to Her” to other

works of Almodovar’s, calling it “calmer and less floridly extravagant” while maintaining his

usual sexuality and mystery. He says that, while horrible in nature, the action that takes place in

the film is watered down by the Almodovar’s direction, how his representation of the world is

warmer and thus the criminal element sympathized with. He also discusses the aspect of

femininity in Almodovar’s films, here present in the male characters. Benigno displays a

nurturing, “diffident” sensitivity (perhaps coming across gay or bi), and Marco, while tough,

cries often.

The rape allegation comes pretty soon after the scene from the silent movie, in which a

man shrinks down and crawls inside his lover to please her “in an act of reverential worship.”

This might foreshadow how Benigno views his relationship with Alicia.
Bradshaw, P. “Talk to Her.” The Guardian, 22 August 2002. https://www.theguardian.com/film/

2002/aug/23/1. Accessed 22 February 2018.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the

way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Based on the way Bradshaw described Almodovar’s films, I think I’d like to watch another

one and see both his style and where he deviates in each film. I didn’t think the film was

“floridly extravagant” as he’d put it – rather, I thought it was kind of slow and not all that

suspenseful. As for femininity, the women in “Talk to Her” both took side stage to the men in the

story. Sure, the men might have been considered feminine, but I think this is different than what

it takes to be “revered as a director of women.”

The use of the silent movie scene seems to have been to placate the viewer about the rape

before it happened using humor and the idea of selflessness. I hadn’t considered that Almodovar

made the rape allegation less punctuating on purpose, so that we as the audience may think more

about it. If that is the case, then I hope people do think about it rather than gloss it over as it

seems to have been done by Marco. Were we supposed to feel sympathetic for Benigno? I

certainly didn’t. I didn’t like his character much to begin with, and by the end of the film he was

left with no redeeming qualities. Bradshaw calls the film “persuasive,” but I don’t feel as if I’ve

been persuaded to feel or think anything because of it.

 4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of

the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Perhaps it’s the style of Spanish film but I found myself struggling to keep up my

suspension of disbelief. I felt like my attention was not held by the plot or the characters,

especially by the main character, Marco. It was supposed to be touching or inspiring that he

always cried, but that’s no marvel – I cry all the time. I liked him even less when he decided to

be Benigno’s friend after the horrible crime he committed. Does he even really believe him to be

innocent? We know what kind of man Benigno is, but what kind of a man is Marco? All we ever

really see him do is cry. The most interesting character was Alicia and sadly she was

unconscious for most of the film. Additionally, the scene where Benigno is recalling the silent

film is bizarre and seemed out-of-place in the narrative, a strange kind of art that clashed with the

rest of thee film’s atmosphere.

I did however really appreciate Almodovar’s decision to have Caetano Veloso perform

his rendition of “Cucurrucucu Paloma” live, rather than let it run in the background as part of the

soundtrack. It was the most alive, invigorating part of the movie and the song has stuck with me

since then.

Plagiarism Checklist

1) (x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly

explain that in the paper.

3) (x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used
indentation and citation within the text.

4) (x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the

text of the paper.

5) (x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I

cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: Rida Hasan

Date: 2/22/18