Broken Embraces

A blind filmmaker named Harry Caine (Lluís Homar) recounts a past love affair while making his final film. Penelope Cruz delivers another great performance as Lena, an aspiring actress who resorts to escort services and winds up the mistress of a rich and older businessman (José Luiz Gómez). The film is a bit scattershot, but Pedro Almodóvar is a reliable writer-director who can make even his more inconsistent works interesting. Cruz shows that her recent Oscar was no fluke; she’s one of the better actresses currently making movies. It’s always interesting to see great directors making movies about creating a movie, and this one is no exception.