Screening Report 3: SP: Talk to Her

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

Noted for being one of the most internationally successful Spanish filmmakers, Almodóvar and his films have gained worldwide notoriety. Almodóvar moved to Madrid in 1967 to become a filmmaker. He was heavily influenced by Hollywood films in which everything happens around a female main character and aims to continue in that tradition. Some believe Almodóvar has redefined perceptions of Spanish cinema and Spain. Many typical images and symbols of Spain, such as bullfighting, gazpacho and flanenco, have been featured in his films; most of his films have also been shot in Madrid. References to film and allusions to theatre, literature, dance, painting, television and advertising are central to the world that Almodóvar constructs on screen. 

  2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.   

 "Talk to Her" is a film with many themes; it ranges in tone from a soap opera to a tragedy. A man cries in the opening scene of Pedro Almodovar's "Talk to Her," but although unspeakably sad things are to happen later in the movie, these tears are shed during a theater performance. There is a special effects sequence of outrageous audacity, a short silent film fantasy in which a little man attempts to please a woman with what can only be described as total commitment. Almodovar has a way of evoking sincere responses from material which, if it were revolved only slightly, would present a face of sheer irony.  

Marco meets Lydia when she is at the height of her fame, the most famous female matador in Spain. Driving her home one night, he learns her secret: She is fearless about bulls, but paralyzingly frightened of snakes. After Marco catches a snake in her kitchen (we are reminded of Annie Hall's spider), she announces she will never be able to go back into that house again. Soon after, she is gored by a bull, and lingers in the twilight of a coma. Marco, who did not know her very well, paradoxically comes to know her better as he attends at her bedside. 

Benigno has long been a nurse, and for years tended his dying mother. He first saw the ballerina Alicia as she rehearsed in a studio across from his apartment. She is comatose after a traffic accident. He volunteers to take extra shifts and seems willing to spend 24 hours a day at her bedside. He is in love with her. 

The two men meet at the hospital and share their experiences, both men seem happy to devote their lives to women who do not, and may never, know of their devotion. Both men seem happy to devote their lives to women who do not, and may never, know of their devotion. There is something selfless in their dedication, but something selfish, too, because what they are doing is for their own benefit; the patients would be equally unaware of treatment whether it was kind or careless. 

"Talk to Her" combines improbable melodrama (gored bullfighters, comatose ballerinas) with subtly kinky bedside vigils and sensational denouements, and yet at the end, we are undeniably touched. Not many directors can evoke such complex emotions with such problematic material. 

Ebert, R. (2002, December 25). Talk to Her Movie Review & Film Summary (2002) | Roger Ebert. Retrieved from                        https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/talk-to-her-2002 

  

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

Talk to Her, in short is about lonely, lovely, and sweet suffering. As the movie progress, one has no recourse but to feel for all the characters. The story draws you into the emotions of the characters not unlike a real soap opera. Pedro has created a tragic comedy about need and its freeing and restraining powers. He uses very deliberate camera movements to show the emotion and movement which appear to be both innocent but deliberate. The film was very entertaining and left the viewers very much entertained. 

 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. 

This film couldn't be more unhurried, and the director could not be more assured about what he was doing. I have watched a lot of films and no other director photographs skin so lovingly -- itself becomes a plot point.  I believed that it was genius. Every movement was deliberate and never hurried. Even though the pace was slow, there was never a dull moment. "Talk to Her" is new to my collection and very different than the normal drama.  I enjoyed that use of color, music, the inclusion of the old black and white silent film.  

   

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM   1) (x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.   
2) (x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.   
3) (x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.   
4) (x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.   
5) (x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.   
6) (x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.   
7) (x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.   
8) (x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.   

Name: Carleen Oliver                                                Date:   February 13, 2018