Thursday, October 02, 2014

Pedro Almodóvar: La mala educación / Bad Education (2004)

The plot structure of Pedro Almodóvar's La mala educación / Bad Education (2004) is tricky, including a film within a film based on a story that is based on actual (or are they fictional?) events. The film-within-a-film trope doesn't always work very well, but Almodóvar is good at it. The story-within-a-story based on another story allows time travel, promoting occasional disorientation as to what makes a person a person, while asking: what makes people change in time? Or do people change? That's ultimately the complex gist of persona and identity. These insistent questions are themes constantly explored by Almodóvar.   
If  a picture is worth a thousand words, what's this one saying?
Closeup of Diego Velázquez' Las Meninas (1656), on display in Madrid's Prado. This painting is very similar to what Almodóvar is doing on film.  

Today's Rune: Partnership. 

2 comments:

jodi said...

Erik, Do people change? Now, there is something to ponder...I think I will steal this for a blog post this week. Thanks, Buddy. x

jodi said...

Erik, Do people change? Now, there is something to ponder...I think I will steal this for a blog post this week. Thanks, Buddy. x