Bad Education (2004)

Bad Education (2004)

Bad Education is one of those rare NC-17 rated films that I really don't get why it's rated that way.  On the surface, the film is about the adult lives of a couple of boys who were molested by a priest at their Catholic school during the Franco era.  Bad Education actually goes from a film about the after effects of molestation to a love story and into a whole 'nother direction of drama, and it's fantastic.  Almodovar is so great at throwing a twist into his films that isn't all "hey look at THIS!" like Shyamalan; it's subtle, intelligent, and though not always shocking, it's going to be something that profoundly affects the characters and the remainder of the story.  I love that about Almodovar - I think he's one of the most underrated (or underexposed due to being from a foreign market) writer-directors. 

This is actually the first film I've seen Gael Garcia Bernal in (I've had a few of his films on my "to watch list" for a couple of years now) and he was really great, in what was an extremely complex and challenging role, especially considering how young he was when he did it.  It was also really gutsy, considering the NC-17 rating was most certainly because of a couple scenes of gay sex (that most certainly did not merit that rating, trust me) that are normally going to be controversial, but especially so in "macho" Spain. 

Another awesome Almodovar film.  I'm so conflicted right now because I of course am excited about continuing, but then I look at his filmography and it's not that long so it won't take long to get through it.  Luckily, he's one of those directors that seems to make a film every year and a half or so, so there will be plenty to look forward to.

Bad Education: 4 out of 5



Shelly