"Talk to Her" by Pedro Almodovar

"Talk to Her" is a Spanish film from 2002 by Pedro Almodovar. The film stars Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, and Rosario Flores.  The movie takes place in Spain.  Marco (Dario Grandinetti) and his girlfriend Lydia (Rosario Flores) had an unstable relationship.  It became even more unstable when Lydia, a bull fighter, messed up at the very beginning of one of her fights and ended up in a coma. At the hospital that Lydia was brought to, a man named Benigno (Javier Camara) who works as a male nurse looking after his own "girl friend," Alicia (Leonor Watling), whom is also in a coma.

 

Over time the two men begin a friendship and talk about how the past brought them to where they are now. Marco learns Benigno had actually stalked the girl he was caring for and she was rather unaware of their "intimate" relationship. Alicia had only seen Benigno as a friend, and never knew he was always watching her and even went as far as to see her father, who is a psychiatrist, in attempts to see her.

Marco finds out that his girlfriend was going to leave him, and decides it is time to stop watching over her, but he still tries to stay friends with Benigno, who gets himself into a lot of trouble when he ends up having sexual intercourse with the unconscious Alicia and gets her pregnant. Benigno eventually goes to jail and Marco does his best to stay a good friend, despite what has happened.  Alicia wakes up from her coma after a supposed miscarriage. Benigno, however, is told she died during the child birth.  In the end Marco receives a disturbing message from Benigno and it is unclear if Benigno means to commit suicide or escape.

The major theme of this film would have to be how there is a fine line between loyalty and obsession. Marco proved he was being loyal when he sat by Lydia when she was in her coma, but lost it when he learned she was not being loyal to him and never had a chance to tell him officially.  Marco was the definition of obsession. Not only did he stalk and falsely befriend Alicia, but he raped her unconscious body as she laid helpless at his mercy. The themes continued as Marco shifted his loyalty to Benigno when he was in prison, and Benigno's obsession when tries something drastic when he hears the rumor Alicia died.

I would have to say I did enjoy watching this film. It was slow in the beginning but it picked up once the drama unfolded and the plot lines you simply do not see coming. This is the kind of film I could watch again, provided there was good time between viewings, and I was in the mood to watch it.