Talk to Her (ec)

Josh Haimann

Talk to Her a film by Pedro Almodovar, starts off a little strange, there is some odd interpretive dance scene and then we transition to a hospital where we meet a young lady in a coma. She gets a thorough washing from two nurses and then that’s about it; her name is Alicia. Next we meet Lydia a female matador as she’s being interviewed on a television show. The host asked some rather personal questions and Lydia isn’t too happy about ho persistent she is with her inquiry. Marco, a journalist, is looking to write an article about her for La Paris. He confronts her and she agrees to speak with him if he gives her a ride to somewhere, he agrees and when they arrive she is shocked to find a snake in the house. Terrified, she runs out of the house; Marco disposes of it and Lydia asks if he’ll bring her to a hotel for the night. When they arrive she asks that he not tell anyone about her fear of snakes and he respects he wishes. Later Lydia is brutally gored by a bull in one of her matador fights; she is then emitted to a hospital where she too appears to be in a vegetative state. Benigno is a nurse at the private hospital who spends most of his time looking after Alicia, a ballet dancer who was injured in a traffic accident. She has been in a coma for four years. Through flashbacks, we learn that he has been in love with her since spotting her in a dance studio across the street from where he lives. Now Benigno lavishes her with attention and care, convinced that she can hear what he is saying and sense the love that is coming her way. One day Benigno and Marco cross paths when they attend the same concert dance, eventually meeting again at a private clinic where Benigno works. Imagine this nurse's surprise when he sees Marco at the hospital and finds out that he is visiting Lydia. Even though she is in a vegetative state, Benigno advises his new friend to talk to her. "A woman's brain is a mystery and even more so in this state," he tells him. Through flashbacks, we learn how Marco, became enchanted with Lydia and her skill as a matador. In one of the film's most magical scenes, her magnificent and tight-fitting ceremonial suit is put on her by a helper in a ritual that seems almost religious in its rigors and sense of awe. Marco blames himself as the cause of Lydias fatal accident and lack of concentration in the ring with the charging bull. Later it is discovered that Alicia has become pregnant while still in her coma. Benigno is suspected and accused, eventually getting fired from the hospital and after being sent to prison commits suicide by overdosing himself. As for Marco he has to read about Lydia passing away after her brutal accident and after trying to help Benigno and having to deal with the aftermath of his suicide he feels very sad.

            I didn’t really like this movie, I was somewhat bored by it and felt like it took a very long time to tell the story it was telling. I did however enjoy the music in the film, I like the jazzy/blues style of some of the songs, however there was entirely too much interpretive dance. I’m not an artsy person and have trouble understanding forms of expressionistic art like dance or even abstract art; for me I look for an image rather than an idea.