Talk to Her

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FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 75 WIDTH="495"><div>  <IMG SRC="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/serve?bfmid=26864318&siteid=37746411&bfpage=home" BORDER="0" WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1" NOSAVE > <A HREF="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=26864318&siteid=37746411&bfpage=home" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="http://www.dvdplanet.com/satellite/banners/affiliate-ad3.jpg" BORDER="0" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="60" ALT="DVDPlanet.com"></A>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Talk to Her</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> 4  Stars</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Rating</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> R </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Nudity, sexual content and some language</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Director</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Pedro Almodovar</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Nothing is simple</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Starring</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Javier Camara</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Dario Grandinetti</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Leonor Watling</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Rosario Flores</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> We meet Marco (Dario Grandinetti) as he is moved to tears while watching an emotionally wrenching stage production. Benigno (Javier Camara), another member of the audience, quietly observes him.  </div> <bR> <div> Benigno, who is a nurse, cared for his mother during a lengthy illness until she died. He leads a solitary existence, until he falls in love with Alicia, a dancer in her twenties, who rehearses in the dance studio across the street from his apartment (in movies, the studio always seems to be on the second floor…."<B>Shall We Dance"</B> and <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id10"><U>"</U></A><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id10"><U><B>Center Stage"</B></U></A><B>).</B> </div> <bR> <div> She rebuffs him, and his attempt to make a connection with her is to become a patient of her father, who is a psychiatrist.  After an accident that results in Alicia being in a coma, Benigno becomes the lead nurse responsible for every detail of her care; grooming her hair, doing her nails and taking care of her needs during her menstrual cycle. He allows the suspicion of him being a homosexual so that some do not think that he is attracted to Alicia. That said, whenever you have a male over 30 who is a virgin, something out of sorts is going to happen.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, Marco, a travel writer, prepares to do a feature story on Lydia (Rosario Flores), a famous bullfighter. She is breaking up with her boyfriend and allows Marco to take her home from a cocktail party to show her ex that she has moved on. As Marco is driving off from her house, he hears a scream when Lydia sees a snake in her kitchen. Charging bulls…no problem, a relatively small snake…look out! Even after it's been removed, she insists that she must stay in a downtown hotel. The two become fast friends and are soon lovers. Months later in a bullfight, she is seriously injured, goes into a coma, and becomes a patient in the same hospital as Alicia.</div> <bR> <div> As Marco learns what's involved in a bedside vigil of someone who may never recover, Benigno gives him some advice, "Talk to her."   The two men and their comatose charges become a foursome; sunning the ladies, complete with sunglasses and hats, talking to them and to each other. When he returns from a work assigned writing trip, to clear his mind, Marco learns that Benigno is in jail, accused of raping Alicia.</div> <bR> <div> While he cares for Alicia and talks to her, Benigno uses her love of silent movies as motivation as he daydreams of a black and white film in which two lovers are put to a major test. The woman is a scientist who creates a potion that her lover drinks, which causes him to shrink to the size of your middle finger (no pun intended). They exchange pillow talk (giving the term new meaning) and she is afraid to go to sleep for fear of crushing him to death. As he climbs upon her body, he makes a commitment that I'll just say is faaaaaaaaar far out. It's a <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1069.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1069.ht"><U><B>great movie moment</B></U></A> you'll remember for a long time.</div> <bR> <div> Director Pedro Almodovar, who gave us the award winning "<B>All About My Mother," </B>won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film of 2002 for this movie. The quietness with which an alleged rapist can be given compassion is quite provocative. Almodovar also pushes the religious envelope once again. In <B>AAMM</B>, it was a pregnant nun (Penelope Cruz) and here it's priests who rape nuns in Africa because they don't have AIDS. </div> <bR> <div> Benigno and Marco come to love each other although they are not in love "with" each other. It's very unusual to see men show their emotions in this way. If the roles were reversed and the men were in comas, this would be considered a chick flick. Another film where men bond with each other far beyond the perfunctory "I love you man" concept is in <B>"</B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday2002/id1743.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday20"><U><B>Antwone Fisher.</B></U></A><B>"</B> Luck and coincidence play a major role in both films as it does in real life. Almodovar is known for his daring and deliberate plunge into the human psyche, and the magnificent use of colors in his films, and this film upholds both traditions. The haunting soundtrack and ending of this film is very uplifting. Real men do cry.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>