| Broken Embraces | |
|---|---|
 Spanish theatrical release poster | |
| Spanish | Los abrazos rotos |
| Directed by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Written by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rodrigo Prieto |
| Edited by | José Salcedo |
| Music by | Alberto Iglesias |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Entertainment España[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 128 minutes[2] |
| Country | Spain |
| Languages |
|
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $37.4 million[1] |
Broken Embraces (Spanish: Los abrazos rotos) is a 2009 Spanish film written, produced, and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Led by an ensemble cast consisting of many Almodóvar regulars, it stars Lluís Homar as a blind Madrilenian screenwriter who recalls his tragic love for Lena, played by Penélope Cruz, the deceased lead actress in his last directional feature Girls and Suitcases, who was also the mistress of a powerful, obsessive businessman (José Luis Gómez). Blanca Portillo co-stars as his agent Judit, while Tamar Novas portrays her son and Caine's co-writer Diego.
Inspired by darkness and by a photo of a couple that Almodóvar took of El Golfo beach in Lanzarote in the late 1990s, the film serves as an homage to filmmaking, cinema and its various film genres. Stylistically, the film has been described as a hybrid of film noir and melodrama.[3] Thematically, Broken Embraces addresses themes like voyeurism, repression, prostitution, death, vengeance, fixation, illness, and drugs.
Broken Embraces was one of the films competing for the Palme d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Dubbed "purest Almodóvar" by The New Yorker,[4] the film was noted for the director's characteristic "bright primary colors," erotic subject matter, and meticulous, "visually pulsating" cinematography.[5] The picture was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at both the 2009 British Academy Film Awards and the 67th Golden Globe Awards.[6]
- ^ a b "Broken Embraces (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Los Abrazos Rotos - Broken Embraces (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ Smith, Paul Julian (June 2009). "Airless Love". Sight & Sound. Vol. 19, no. 6. p. 19.
...the central tragic plot of Broken Embraces, a mix of film noir and melodrama, spirals off into farcial dead ends..."
- ^ Lane, Anthony (16 November 2009). "Only Make-Believe". The New Yorker. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Ebertwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Broken Embraces (2009)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2009. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2011.