Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
List Price:
Our Price: $4.50
You Save: $15.49 (77%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.23 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Javier Camara, Leonor WattingBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-27
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
Movie Review: If you could speak, what would you say?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've mulled over my fascination with this film many times. It was the first Almodovar film I had ever seen, and it still remains my favorite. There is something very special about this masterful film, something that continues to lay haunt to my soul. The universal themes explored here seem to layer themselves over time, building upon their foundation an even stronger and deeper exploration of all I thought it had to say.
This film keeps giving.
`Hable con Ella' revolves around two men as they bond over similar situations. Both Benigno and Marco are in love with women in comas. Marco's girlfriend, bullfighter Lydia Gonzalez, is thrown into a coma after she is gored by a bull. Alicia, a beautiful dancer, has been lying in a coma for four years thanks to a car accident. Benigno is the nurse who has been taking care of her. While they were never `together', Benigno has fallen in love with her over the years and has come to consider her his soul mate. He lives and breathes to be near her and talk to her. Both men have separate yet related struggles. Marco is struggling with his relationship with Lydia, wondering what he really meant to her. Benigno struggles with a reality he isn't willing to face.
At the core of `Hable con Ella' is a story about the need to be a part of someone, of something greater than ourselves in order to feel whole. As these two men bond over their situations they become intertwined in ways neither could have imagined.
What I appreciate about this film is that it understands how to introduce shocking extremes without taking one out of the film. I read a complaint the other day by a so called Oscar blogger who mentioned that this film was one of the worst films of the decade. His complaint was this:
"I really don't understand why people like this film. The main character does something TERRIBLE, and we're supposed to feel SORRY for him? I certainly didn't. I think he got what was coming to him. I don't mind the gross sexual stuff that Pedro Almodovar does. I just mind it when he asks me to root for a complete pervert. I just don't understand this film's screenplay win."
This is totally narrow minded and completely misses the entire point of this film. What Pedro does here is far from ask us to invest in a pervert, but he asks us to understand the mind of the lonely and come to terms with someone's understanding of love and expression. We don't have to agree with the actions (and hopefully we don't) but like any good, constructive and provocative film, `Hable con Ella' understands the importance in understanding. When one watches a film like `Dead Man Walking', do we not sympathize and or come to feel heartbreak for Sean Penn, despite his despicable actions? This is a film about humanity and the imperfections that make us human. Benigno is suffering, and while he makes some disturbing decisions, one must bare in mind that he is, in fact, suffering.
The relationship that forms between Benigno and Marco is one that speaks volumes to me, for it is one that is ambiguously profound. While Almodovar leaves a lot of questions open, he understands that that is part of the journey for the audience. We are left pondering the meaning of their bond and just what one meant to the other. Marco's reaction to Benigno's actions is a serious point for reflection.
But am I giving too much away?
I urge you to sit down and really delve into this stunning film. Pedro Almodovar really understands not only his characters but also his audience. He knows how to paint a picture so vivid and so real that we are bound to relate, if we are willing to be that open and honest with ourselves.
Summary of Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
From Pedro Almod var the director of the Academy-Award® winning All About My Mother (Best Foreign Language Film 2000) comes his most acclaimed film yet. TALK TO HER is the surprising altogether original and quietly moving story of the spoken and unspoken bonds that unite the lives and loves of two couples. Two men (Benigno and Marco) almost meet while watching a dance performance but their lives are irrevocably entwined by fate. They meet later at a private clinic where Benigno is the caregiver for Alicia a beautiful dance student who lies in a coma. Marco is there to visit his girlfriend Lydia a famous matador also rendered motionless. As the men wage vigil over the women they love the story unfolds in flashback and flashforward as the lives of the four are further entwined and their relationships move toward a surprising conclusion.DVD FeaturesPedro Almodovar and Geraldine Chaplin CommentaryWeblinks to movie website and official Pedro Almodovar websiteDigitally Mastered Audio & Anarmorphic VideoMastered in High DefinitionAudio: Spanish 5.1 (Dolby Digital) French 5.1 (Dolby Digital)Subtitles: English FrenchBonus TrailersInteractive MenusScene SelectionsSystem Requirements:Running Time 114 MinsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: R UPC: 043396089167 Manufacturer No: 08916Writer-director Pedro Almodóvar makes another masterpiece with Talk to Her, his first film since the wonderful All About My Mother. Marco (Dario Grandinetti) is in love with Lydia (Rosario Flores), a female bullfighter who is gored by a bull and sent into a coma. In the hospital, Marco crosses paths with Benigno (Javier Camara), a male nurse who looks after another coma patient, a young dancer named Alicia (Leonor Watling). From Benigno's gentle attentiveness to Alicia, Marco learns to take care of Lydia... but from there, the story goes in directions that deftly manage to be sad, hopeful, funny, and creepy, sometimes at the same time. The rich human empathy of Almodóvar's recent films is passionate, heartbreaking, intoxicating--there aren't enough adjectives to praise this remarkable filmmaker, who is at the height of his powers. Talk to Her is superb, with outstanding performances from all involved. --Bret Fetzer
Similar DVD Movies
Maria Full of GraceHBO Home Video; Release date: 2004-12-07; Published: 2004-12-01; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Flower of My SecretSony; Release date: 2005-04-12; DVD
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
Law of DesireSony; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
The Sea InsideNEW Line Home Video; Release date: 2005-05-17; DVD
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
Matador (1986)Sony; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Bad Education (Original Uncut NC-17 Edition)DVD; Release date: 2005-04-12; Published: 2005-04-01; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Broken EmbracesSony; Release date: 2010-03-16; DVD
Best price: $5.59
Price in other shops:
All About My MotherSony; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $13.46
Price in other shops:
Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownSony; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $8.12
Price in other shops:
VolverSony; Release date: 2007-04-03; Published: 2007-04-01; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: