Are Almodóvar's films purely psychological ?
'Talk to Her/Hable con Ella'
Until the release of Broken Embraces in 2009, Talk to Her was Almodóvar’s first melodrama and his interest and knowledge of Freudian theories is evident; as they are weaved throughout the narrative. Elements such as the voyeuristic gaze and scopophilia and themes of role reversal dominates our screen as the narrative focuses on two comatose young females: a ballet dancer named Alicia (Leonor Watling) and a matador named Lydia (Rosario Flores),who, when awake, were both masters of the body in motion (2004, p. 18). The other half of the narrative gives the audience detailed accounts of the accidents that that women were in, but mainly it shows the care that they receive ‘in the hospital, their bodies are faithfully attended by verbal men who love them (2004, p. 18).
Marsha Kinder states that
‘the film’s gender mobility is demonstrated through the basic reversals of having male attendants grieving over their female brain-dead beloveds; using the offscreen closeted coupling between Benigno and Alicia as the subversive heterosexual act that deviates from his alleged homosexual identity’ (2004, p. 21).
This establishes that there are huge role reversals in this film, with the males looking after the females, and also confirms to the audience that Benigno (whose sexuality at the beginning of the film is an enigma) is a heterosexual, even though his job as a nurse may lead you to think otherwise. In addition, when it is unveiled to the audience that Alicia as been ‘raped’, it is really Benigno’s ‘illicit sexual moves performed off-screen (2004, p.21) that help bring Alicia out of her coma.
Marsha Kinder states that
‘the film’s gender mobility is demonstrated through the basic reversals of having male attendants grieving over their female brain-dead beloveds; using the offscreen closeted coupling between Benigno and Alicia as the subversive heterosexual act that deviates from his alleged homosexual identity’ (2004, p. 21).
This establishes that there are huge role reversals in this film, with the males looking after the females, and also confirms to the audience that Benigno (whose sexuality at the beginning of the film is an enigma) is a heterosexual, even though his job as a nurse may lead you to think otherwise. In addition, when it is unveiled to the audience that Alicia as been ‘raped’, it is really Benigno’s ‘illicit sexual moves performed off-screen (2004, p.21) that help bring Alicia out of her coma.