Pedro Almodovar is one of the most important filmmakers of modern cinema. Women are always the central point of his films. Talk to Her is no exception and an important film made by the master. In the film, he weaves two love stories in a non-linear storyline with multiple flashbacks. The female lovers in both stories are in a coma and the male lovers desperately seek love. The more masculine lover can’t hold the trust of his lover until the end and breaks up. But, the other male lover sacrifices his life for his love. More than love, it is a film about worship, obsession, fascination, and sacrifice. In Talk to Her, Almodovar portrays the pain and suffering amid the true spirit of love.
In the first story, a journalist and travel writer Marco (Dario Grandinetti) connects to famous matador Lydia (Rosario Flores) for an interview and then falls in love with her. He struggles to forget his past girlfriend and the memories of her bring tears to his eyes. Marco comes to terms with his past love life and starts a romantic relationship with Lydia. Unfortunately, Lydia gets brutally injured in a bullfight and goes into a coma. Her past lover ‘El Nino de Valencia’ appears at the hospital and claims to have reconciled with Lydia. Marco does not wait until her recovery to validate El Nino’s claim with Lydia and breaks up with her. Almodovar clearly shows the fragility of Marco’s love for Lydia. When she needs him the most, he calls it a quit based on El Nino’s claim. He does not believe Lydia wholeheartedly. When a relationship is not built on a solid base of truth, it tends to be futile.
In the second story, Benigno (Javier Camara) took care of his paralyzed mother for a long time, which inspired him to be a nurse and beautician. He sees beautiful dancer Alicia’s (Leonor Watling) dance practice every day from his room and falls in love with her. One day he follows her and finds that she stays in the same building as Dr. Roncero. Benigno steals her hairclip. A car runs over Alicia on that day making her fatally injured and remaining in a coma. Benigno works in the same hospital where Alicia is admitted. He is assigned to Alicia by chance. Benigno talks to Alicia every day and believes she feels his words. He also suggests to Marco to speak to Lydia every day. Unfortunately, Alicia is raped and Benigno is put behind bars as the prime suspect. He commits suicide and ‘escapes this world’ contemplating losing Alicia forever. Almodovar shows the depth of Benigno’s love for Alicia. It is so intense that Benigno can’t imagine his life without Alicia. There are times when obsession and fascination for love turn into worship. Benigno’s unconditional love for Alicia is one of them.
There is no denying the fact that Benigno is assigned full-time to Alicia to take care of her. So, quite naturally, he is arrested and put behind bars as the prime suspect in Alicia’s rape. However, it seems to be unbelievable. Benigno loves her so deeply that he cannot imagine his life without her. So, it is very difficult to believe and accept that he would commit a horrific crime by raping her in the vegetative state of a coma. Benigno is obsessed with Alicia. While nursing her, he talks to her every day and suggests Marco do the same. In the end, Alicia gets cured but not Lydia. Almodovar shows the importance of sharing feelings and emotions, which can be propagated even to comatose patients. Human connections remain incomplete without feelings and emotions. Without emotional bonds, humans are merely non-living creatures.
Even though no bull was hurt during filming, a gory bullfight is featured in Talk to Her. It gives the viewers an idea of how painful, fatal, and terrible the bullfights are in Spain and other parts of the world. Bullfights may be Spain’s tradition but those fights are utterly dangerous, fatal, and painful for the bulls and sometimes for the matadors. , innocent bulls are tortured before the fights and killed after the fights. In the film, Lydia is violently attacked by the bull and she gets into a coma and then passes away. Almodovar shows the viewers a glimpse of Spain’s traditional but dangerous bullfights in Talk to Her.
Pedro Almodovar usually writes incredible screenplays. His screenplays start with a simple storyline and then go through multiple twists and turns. He creates multiple layers into the screenplays making them complex but interesting. Talk to Her also starts with a simple incident wherein Marco and Benigno attend a dance performance by renowned German choreographer Pina Bausch. Then, the screenplay turns toward their love and the comatose lovers. In the end, the most jovial character Benigno suffers the worst fate. Almodovar brilliantly weaves love, fascination, obsession, and worship with pain, trauma, and suffering. The entire cast delivers outstanding performances in Talk to Her. While Dario Grandinetti portrays masculinity as Marco, Javier Camara as Benigno is a soft, sensitive, and dedicated lover. Rosario Flores’ unflinching portrayal of a female matador is brief but outstanding. Leonor Watling as Alicia is glamorous and beautiful. The complex storyline of Talk to Her flows smoothly through the powerful and efficient acting of the actors.
Like Almodovar’s other films, Talk to Her also contains vibrant colors throughout the film, especially red and yellow. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe’s camera captures the sensitive and vulnerable moments of the characters. Multiple outstanding moments are created on the screen like the bullfight, Alicia’s dress change, and Benigno talking to Alicia in a coma. Long-time Almodovar collaborator Alberto Iglesias’ sad, gentle, evocative, and utterly emotional music is an essential element of the film. It enriches the film creating multiple moods as the story progresses. Iglesias’ soundtracks in Talk to Her are greatly influenced by guitar and violin. Almodovar includes the live performance of Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso’s vocal track Cucurrucu Pelamo. The soundtracks used in the film create an enormous impact in the minds of the viewers.