Screening Report 3: Spain - Talk to Her

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

We discussed Pedro Almodóvar and famous Spanish actors who have broken into American films. Almodóvar has also broken into the American consciousness with films like All About My Mother, Bad Education, Volver, and the film we watched, Talk to Her. As was discussed, Almodóvar is a "woman's director" meaning that his films focus a lot on its female characters and the women often outweigh the men in terms of characters. However, Talk to Her didn't seem to be one of these films as the focus was entirely on the two male leads and neither of the women in the film had much agency. 

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/aug/23/1

Peter Bradshaw's review of Talk to Her for the Guardian explains the sexual issues of the film, specifically Benigno's rape of Alicia. He argues that with the warmth and sympathy Almodóvar creates for Bernigno, the rape is "neutralized through a combination of sympathy and alienation." (Bradshaw, 2002). He says that the silent film in the movie, Shrinking Lover, is a metaphor for Benigno's feelings for Alicia. That he doesn't see his actions as inappropriate but as acts of worship for her. He goes on to say that the movie focuses on male femininity- we see Marco cry multiple times in the film, especially when watching the dancers.Bradshaw explains that these men put their women up on pedestals only to be hurt by them later.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

I disagree adamantly with Bardshaw's excuses for Benigno's rape of Alicia. While yes, the film does its best to make Benigno sympathy (by making him a lonely alienation person with no social contact barring his mother) it's not enough to get past the fact that he stalks and rapes a girl who doesn't even know him. The notion that Benigno worships Alicia, like the man in the Shrinking Lover worships his lover's body, is not enough to distract from Benigno's overall creepy persona and the fact that he's a delusional rapist. 

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.

The film was off-putting and alienating to me. From what I can gather, however, this does not seem typical of Almodóvar's works as he is described as being a woman's director who puts an emphasis on his female characters. I found the character of Marco much more sympathetic than Benigno as Marco is more grounded in reality. He loves Lydia and is distraught by her coma.Yet he can never make the leap that Benigno does and actually talks to her while she's comatose. 

Citation:

Talk to Her. Pedro Almodóvar. Sony Pictures Classic. 2002. Film.

Bardshaw, Peter. "Talk to Her". The Guardian. 20 February 2017. 

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  Name: ____Melissa Faitoute__________________________________  Date: _________20 February 2017___________________