Talk to Her (2002)
"Hable con ella" (original title)

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for their girlfriends who are both in deep comas.

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writer:

Pedro Almodóvar

Stars:

Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling

Won 1 Oscar. Another 41 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Javier Cámara	...	Benigno Martín
Darío Grandinetti	...	Marco Zuluaga
Leonor Watling	...	Alicia
Rosario Flores	...	Lydia González
Mariola Fuentes	...	Rosa
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Katerina Bilova
Pina Bausch	...	Bailarina 'Café Müller'
Malou Airaudo	...	Bailarine 'Café Müller' (Dancer)
Caetano Veloso	...	Singer at party - "Cucurrucucú Paloma"
Roberto Álvarez	...	Doctor Vega
Elena Anaya	...	Ángela
Lola Dueñas	...	Matilde
Adolfo Fernández	...	Niño de Valencia
Ana Fernández	...	Hermana de Lydia
Chus Lampreave	...	Portera

Storyline

After a chance encounter at a theater, two men, Benigno and Marco, meet at a private clinic where Benigno works. Lydia, Marco's girlfriend and a bullfighter by profession, has been gored and is in a coma. It so happens that Benigno is looking after another woman in a coma, Alicia, a young ballet student. The lives of the four characters will flow in all directions, past, present and future, dragging all of them towards an unsuspected destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

coma | nurse | friendship | ballet | hospital | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for nudity, sexual content and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Talk to Her

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$104,396 (USA) (22 November 2002)

Gross:

$9,284,265 (USA) (13 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Deseo S.A., Antena 3 Televisión, Good Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 104 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes:  frequent Pedro Almodóvar actors appear briefly when Caetano Veloso is singing.

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Quotes

Marco Zuluaga: Love is the saddest thing when it goes away, as a song by Jobim goes.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits contain the following text: "El 7 de agosto, durante el rodaje de esta película nació Pablo hijo de Cova y de Juan y niño de todos.". This translates to: "On August 7th, while shooting this movie, Pablo, son of Cova and Juan and child of all of us, was born."

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Connections

Referenced in The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Study Waltz"
(Graham Dickson Place)
Piano performed by Víctor Matos

User Reviews

Stunning, both visually and semantically

On watching "Talk To Her", one of the first things you will notice is the beauty of film-work involved. The colours are rich and saturated, the image is crisp and the camera work is superb. Smooth panning shots and steady zooms guide you safely though s slightly fractured narrative, cutting between the past, present and future on occasions.

This discontinuity, however, isn't confusing to the viewer and is, in fact, far from it. The cast act and speak so clearly that it is a perfect introduction to anyone new to foreign language film and, aside from the minor plot-line of bullfighting, there aren't an abundance of Spanish cultural references.

This film, essentially, is a complex story laid out in an extremely simple form. It is not a film you will forget and, no doubt, will think about a lot after watching it. Also, unlike a lot of critically acclaimed films, you will not be cogitating over the events that took place in the film, you will be asking yourself how they apply to your life and relationships with others. Despite "Talk To Her"'s tragic story, it is an incredibly fun film to watch and discuss with others and a film I am extremely glad I added to my collection, having heard little about it at the time I bought it. 9/10