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Pedro will be blogging during the production of the film right here starting Friday.

Here's the relevant bits from The Hollywood Reporter's blurb:

"Hugs" will star Penelope Cruz...The film noir centers on plastic surgeon who seeks revenge on the man who raped his daughter.

From Paste Magazine: Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz team up for Broken Embraces. Filming to begin next month.

Filming starts this week in Lanzarote.

article about the filming at elpais.com (in Spanish). I also saw images on tv with Penélope walking in the beach.

filming in the centre of Madrid.

Cruz does her best work with Almodovar. I hope I'm not the only person who thinks she deserved the Oscar for Volver over Helen Mirren.

mfunk9786 wrote: I hope I'm not the only person who thinks she deserved the Oscar for Volver over Helen Mirren.

No you weren't the only one.

Penélope like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina. Pictures and new interview to Pedro about the filming here.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the film for North America. The Variety article offers this interesting bit of info:

[The film] is being shot in the style of 1950s American film noir.

aw, you left out the best part of the article:

[Almodovar] says its shadowy look was partly inspired by a series of migraines that rendered him ultra-sensitive to bright lights.

Some new stills.

La Concejala antropófaga (The Cannibalistic City Councilor), a new short by Almodóvar shot on the set of Broken Embraces makes it debut on Spain Canal TV and on their website on Friday.

Al El Pais you can watch the 1st Spanish teaser

I'm counting down to 19 march to see it.

Some new stills including Penelope Cruz looking amazing in a white wig.

The film gets a great poster.

Pure Almodóvar.

the short La concejala is a very funny piece with 100% Almodovar's crazy dialogues aout sex and life. It reminds to Carmen Maura in Women on the verge.. or Agrado's monologue in the Barcelona theatre in All about my mother, BUT, this short is aout a politician, and it's a critic to the P.P (Jose Maria Aznar, and his wife, Ana Botella, she's a concejala in the Madrid town hall, of "asuntos sociales" like Carmen Machi in the short film).
I supposse it's a revenge about PP and what happened in 2004 with the release of Bbad education, the 11M ombings, etc. Una critica muy ¿¿¿acertada???

Cocaina, sexo, hipocresía.
Has anyone seen this short??? In Spain the PP has not replied, yet.

Spanish trailer.

Horrible review at El Pais

A better one at El Mundo

I liked Volver, a very lukewarm and average film and I'm hoping Broken Embraces is better. Even though Talk to Her and Bad Education are more interesting films, I really think he had everything to say in All About My Mother.

I've seen it today in the 1st screening on my town. I have loved it. I've just adored the mix of noir, melodrama and passions. When I will see it again and again, I know it'll be my favourite Pedro's film. Los abrazzos had touched me, emocionado.
Lovely cast, sad plot, next week I want to see it another time.

On El pais, there's an special page about the film, interviews, pics, etc. By the way, Penelope is cover on all magazines here.

6 clips from the film and 2 TV spots.

rohmerin wrote:I've seen it today in the 1st screening on my town. I have loved it. I've just adored the mix of noir, melodrama and passions. When I will see it again and again, I know it'll be my favourite Pedro's film. Los abrazzos had touched me, emocionado.
Lovely cast, sad plot, next week I want to see it another time.

Nice to know that. How would you compare this to Volver, both films starring Cruz?

Went to see it the day before yesterday. Spain is only a 2 hour car ride from where I live. Liked it. Will need to see it again. Lost of self-referential stuff, which is always good in the case of directors with a wonderful CV like Almodóvar.

Penélope is luminous. She is the heart of the movie. However, it didn't grab me like, for instance, Bad Education did. Which is not to say that it's a bad movie. In my view, the noir elements are not fully explored and the story, though convoluted at first, makes perfect sense in the end.

That's the thing with Almodóvar: he always writes great stuff but it's in the execution that sometimes I feel he's still lacking. But when it works, boy does it work! Alberto Iglesias score is again very reminiscent of noir cinema as it captures the mood and the mystery very accurately.

I'd say this one's a grower. Will definitely need to see it again.