Rating: 
Summary: SO DIFFERENT
Review: When I went to see this film I knew that many people in Europe like it already. It took almost all awards in Europe. I knew the director and some of the actors. I knew the exceptional work these people had done before but I did not really know what level of a film I would see now. It was different. It was different even from the early works of the same people. There was no moving picture in this film. This was a very well done play where the movie approach was used just to move people from one scene to another and from one area to another. The cinematography, as we know it, was not really applied or important. It is a great play which was put together by the great group of people. I enjoyed it very much.
Rating: 
Summary: For once, Almodovar misses--and he REALLY misses
Review: I love lots of movies that other people hate. Cheesy action films and stuff like that. But every so often, I find myself disliking a movie everyone else says is brilliant. This is one of those times.I love Almodovar, really I do. And I tried, oh how I tried to like this movie. It's visually stunning, after all, and wonderfully acted. And it is an atrocity. Apparently most of my 40 fellow reviewers have no real problem with the fact that one of the male protagonists of this film, a man portrayed sympathetically as someone capable of great love and tenderness, nevertheless [attacks] the woman he "loves" while she is in a coma. By itself, this wouldn't make a bad movie. What's bad is that Almodovar seems to REALLY WANT US TO BELIEVE that the [attack] is not an immoral act, that somehow the situation presented is beyond good and evil. Guess what? It's not. The film's visual and narrative focus totally disempowers the female characters of the film--and not just because two of them are in comas. There's nothing TO the women in this movie. They're just objects, landscapes, tools, for men to use in order to find out just how sensitive they can be and how much love they can have. No thanks. Not interested. I'm all for movies that force us into uncomfortable identifications with unusual protagonists, but there's a way to do this without making us complicit with the protagonist (Fight Club, for instance). Instead of offering some perspective, Talk to Her visually rapes a female character and then tries to convince us that something beautiful has happened. What really disturbs me, though, is my fellow 40 reviewers. How exactly do the males among those reviewers look at women? And how do the women among those reviewers look at themselves? Maybe this time I'm just wrong. But so far, no matter how hard I have tried, I have been unable to convince myself that anything beatiful happened in this movie. And the movie seems to think the opposite. And that, my friends, is very, very disturbing.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: Up 'til now I've avoided Pedro Almodovar's movies because I thought his work was going to be bright, loud, and kitschy to the point of garishness. Now I don't know if that's a mistaken impression or not, but "Talk to Her,"is far from what I expected. I don't think I've had a more rewarding motion picture experience in some time. The only film that comes close is "Y Tu Mama Tambien," and "Talk to Her," is up a few steps from that wonderful movie. Two men, two women, two totally different relationships bound by equally tragic events, and resolved in ways sad, perverse, and beautiful. And don't forget - comic. The humor in this movie runs from humane to surreal, and for the most part is simply touching. One of the great "finds" of this movie was Caetano Veloso performing a gorgeous rendition of "Cucurrucucz Paloma," that brought tears to the eyes of one of the movie's characters, and to mine as well; and Mr. Almodovar had the wit to allow the song its course. Definitely worth the price of admission. "Talk to Me," is a splendid movie that should have you thinking and talking about it for days.
Rating:
Summary: AS I LAY SLEEPING....
Review: Pedro Almodovar, you either understand his films and like them or you shun his masterpieces like the plague. I'm of the former genre. I think he is brilliant. "All About My Mother," was in my opinion a masterpiece. Cutting thru the sexual taboo's as with a Rapier, leaving you with your mouth wide open, or walking up the aisle. I was a little apprehensive about this new film,'Habla con ella,' but I shouldn't have worried as it was another triumph for the Director. Who else could direct a film about two comatose women and two oddball men who are in love with them, one being unnaturally fixated. The two men for the most part would not have even met had they not seen each other at the hospital, where Lydia (Rosorio Flores), and Alicia (Leonore Watting) have close rooms. Both women were dancers so-to-speak, Alicia was a classical ballet student and Lydia, danced with the Toro in the Arena of the noonday sun, the bull hooked Lydia and a car caught Alicia. The men Benigno, (Javier Camara), a nurse, and the one who talks to Alicia as if she were alive, and Marco (Dario Grandinetti), who is in love with Lydia, who is on the rebound from another affair.... Both men do a great job and you can feel their angst, especially Benigno, as he is not in control of his feelings for Alicia. There was one of the greatest renditions of 'CU, CU ,RU, CU, CU, PALOMA, that I have ever heard, very sexy and moving. Also, Almodovar brings in his stars from other pictures. At the nightclub you will see a few actors from All About My Mother. Marisa Paredes, (Huma Rojo) and Cicilia Roth (Manuela) By far Rosorio Flores eats up the camera, especially in her bullring outfit, her face and litheness gives her a wonderfully tormented and tragic look. She is an Almodovar actor. ciao yaaah69 I give this flick 41/2 out of 5
Rating:
Summary: Talk to Almodóvar
Review: While I believe this to be a really good film, I can't label it as great. I don't even think this is Pedro's best work (to me it's either All about my mother or Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown). This is not to say it doesn't deserve all the praise it's gotten. As in most Almodóvar films, this one tells of strange relationships and deep feelings. All the characters are well developed, and the intertwining of the stories is flawless. Highlights of the film: Caetano Veloso singing "Cucurrucucu paloma" (don't miss Cecilia Roth's and Marisol Paredes' cameos in this scene), the bullfighting scenes, and the silent b&w movie scene. Kudos to Pedro for another great piece, and for winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay -- and shame for the Spanish Cinema people who decided no to postulate this film as their entry in the 2002 Oscars...
Rating: 
Summary: very disturbing message
Review: it's a disgustingly manipulative movie designed to apologize for rapists and convince people that rape is good for women. how convenient for the male writer/director that he writes a story about a woman being raped in a coma and it turns out good for her. hey, it saves her from the coma! how convenient! that people can be manipulated so easily to see this as a "love story" is the most horrific aspect of all of it. just add pretty visuals, get a good cinematographer, write the story with painfully crafted manipulation and all of a sudden everyone is rooting for a rapist. the reality of rape is that victims suffer massive trauma (and this includes when they can remember the event or not, if it's in the case of being drugged or assaulted while unconscious, "body memories" surface later and the psyche still stores the assault and the trauma is still endured). i hope everyone who has praised this movie thinks about how much they are backstabbing every victim of rape, victims who suffer short term or often lifelong post traumatic stress and destruction of their lives from this crime. rape victims are up to 14 times as likely to attempt suicide as non-victims. (all you fans of this film think about *that* for a while.) none of that is revealed in this film, instead the gutless idea that rape could have a positive effect on a victim is presented instead. hello! this director is sick! it's unbelievably gutless to promote this film. and what other sick messages could be hyped
in films just by the manipulation of good film work? what's
next, the remake of "birth of a nation"? (the 1915 film blamed
for causing surges in, and apologizing for racial violence and slavery - even going so far as to make it seem like slaves were
happy in their lot in life. kind of like almodovar selling the idea that rape victims are ok with violence against their consent.) wake up people!
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional!
Review: I haven't loved previous Almodovar films; some I've liked and some I've found irritating. But Talk To Her has so much going for it that it's rewarding on any number of levels. The subject is love and it is handled with great humor, with an underlayer of scorching grief. Right and wrong is all in the perceiving. There is obsessive love and guilty love as well as fraternal affection and parental/surrogate love. The cinematography is no less than exquisite, as is the use of color. The film is touching and unpredictable; the performances are wonderful across the board, including a supporting role splendidly handled by Geraldine Chaplin. What is striking is Almodovar's affection for the characters, despite their flaws and weaknesses. The humor is never at anyone's expense, never cruel. The pain evidenced by the characters is almost matter-of-fact in its presentation--randomly terrible things happen and somehow the survivors must go on. There are some extraordinary moments, one of the most notable being a remarkable affecting performance of "Cucurrucucu Paloma" by Brazilian actor, singer, director Caetan Veloso. The soundtrack ranks as a cast member, so vital is it to the integrity of the film. Finally, satisfyingly, the film ends on an optimistic note with more underlayers--of sadness, loss and hope. Intelligent and thoughtful, Talk To Her is a singular accomplishment.
My highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: she'll listen...
Review: according to director pedro almodovar, the film talk to her is all about communication and i have to agree with him. whether or not you agree with the film's subject matter nor like the outcome of the film, i tend to think you will find talk to her a solid story through and through. from the very opening of the film to the heartfelt ending, you will be enthralled as you laugh and cry with our lead characters as their fate unfolds before our very eyes. it is almost impossible to fathom just how much talk to her will touch you or provoke you until you left the theatre and begin your journey elsewhere. while watching almodovar's latest masterpiece, i couldn't but smile when i thought how much he has evolved in his style over the years. from the comical, madcap or simply outarageous to the more melodramatic and sentimental dramas he has made recently such as all about my mother. beware, the madcap and the outrageous are still in almodovar's magical hands and probability suggests this will never change throughout the remainder of his career in filmmaking. there are so many aspects of this film which i would love to share with you but somehow i'm unable. you simply have to experience this film for yourself and i feel it's best if seen in the dark halls we still know as theatres if at all possible. i've been to see this film twice in the past two evenings and talk to her gets better with each and every viewing. i have already preordered my copy of talk to her and i cannot wait until it ships in may. in spain, almodovar is considered the GOD of spanish cinema and i don't dispute this statement.
Rating:
Summary: What filmmaking is all about ...
Review: What can I say, this movie is just perfect.
This movie has everything that mainstream US cinema lacks !!
It's an original, moving story, with a great cast (Dario Grandinetti is perfect) and an excellent soundtrack.
This movie shows the great talent that is Pedro Almodovar.
Without a doubt one of his best, if not his best movie ever.
It just got released in Europe on DVD and VHS to buy and I got it right away.
Very moving movie. Talk To Her is a story about the friendship between two men, about loneliness and the long convalescence of the wounds provoked by passion. It is also a film about incommunication between couples, and about communication. About cinema as a subject of conversation. About how monologues before a silent person can be an effective form of dialogue. About silence as "eloquence of the body", about film as an ideal vehicle in relationships between people, about how a film told in words can bring time to a standstill and install itself in the lives of the person telling it and the person listening.
Talk To Her is a film about the joy of narration and about words as a weapon against solitude, disease, death and madness. It is also a film about madness, about a type of madness so close to tenderness and common sense that it does not diverge from normality.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: i think that it is very important to go into this movie with an open mind. i think that it is important for everyone to watch his movies with an open mind. talk to her has a complete range of emotions that make the watcher really experience new emotions. this movie is all about love. all the actions in this movie are propelled by love. it is that simple. when you watch this movie do not judge everything based on surface value, it is very importnat that you look deeper for the meaning of the action. my point really refers to benigno. what he does is very inapprpriate, but you must take into consideration the reason he does it and the what the consequence of his action brings about. like i said it is so important to look deeper than the surface to truly understand the thought behind his actions. people should watch this movie because above all else it is entertaining, but it is also heartfelt and made with love. i love this movie and cannot wait to buy it on dvd!
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