mailoflove n 1980 Madrid, young film director Enrique Goded is looking for his next project when he receives the unexpected visit of an actor looking for work. The actor claims to be Enrique's boarding school friend and first love, Ignacio Rodriguez. Ignacio, who is using now the name Ángel Andrade, has brought with him a short story titled "The Visit" hoping that Enrique would be interested in making a film out of it giving him the starring role. Enrique is intrigued since "The Visit" described their time together at the Catholic school and it also includes a fictionalized account of their reunion many years later as adults."The Visit" is set in 1977. It tells the story of a drag artist and transsexual called Zahara, whose birth name is Ignacio. Zahara plans to rob a drunken admirer but discovers that the man is her boyhood lover Enrique. Next she visits her old school and confronts Father Manolo, who abused her when she was a boy. She demands one million pesetas from him in exchange for halting publication of her story "The Visit". The story is set in a Catholic boarding school for boys in 1964. At the school, Ignacio, a young boy with a beautiful singing voice, is the object of lust of Father Manolo, the school principal and literature teacher. Ignacio has found his first love and cinema in the company of Enrique, a classmate. One night, Manolo discovers them together and threatens to expel Enrique. In an attempt to prevent this, Ignacio gives himself to Manolo. The priest molests Ignacio, but expels Enrique nonetheless.Enrique wants to adapt Ignacio's story into a film, but Ángel's condition is that he plays the part of Zahara, the transsexual lead. Enrique remains skeptical, for he feels that the Ignacio whom he loved and the Ignacio of today are totally different people. He drives to Galicia to Ignacio's mother and learns that the real Ignacio has been dead for four years and that the man who came to his office is really Ignacio's younger brother, Juan.Enrique's interest is piqued, and he decides to do the film with Juan in the role of Ignacio to find out what drives Juan. Enrique and Ángel start a relationship, and Enrique revises the script so that it ends with Father Manolo, whom Ignacio was trying to blackmail to get money for sex reassignment surgery, having Ignacio murdered. When the scene is shot, Ángel breaks out in tears unexpectedly.The film set is visited by Manuel Berenguer, who is the real Father Manolo, who has resigned from Church duty. Berenguer confesses to Enrique that the new ending of the film is not far from the truth: the real Ignacio blackmailed Berenguer, who somehow managed to scratch together the money but also took an interest in Ignacio's younger brother, Juan. Juan and Manuel started a relationship and after a while realized they both wanted to see Ignacio dead. Juan scored some very pure heroin, so that his brother would die by overdose after shooting up. After the crime, the relationship disintegrates; Berenguer wants to continue the relationship with Juan, but Juan is uninterested. Berenguer claims that he will never let Juan go, and Juan threatens to kill him if Berenguer continues to pursue him. Berenguer attempts to blackmail Juan for his part in the murder of Ignacio.Enrique is shocked and not at all interested in Juan's weak vindications for what he did to his brother. Finally, before he leaves, Juan gives Enrique a piece of paper: a letter to Enrique that Ignacio was in the middle of typing when he died.In the epilogue, it is mentioned that Enrique releases his film later and achieves great success. Despite the grief and guilt of his brother, Juan also achieves success, but was later relegated to television work. Berenguer dies in a hit-and-run (caused by Juan, who was being blackmailed by Berenguer, and thus fulfilling his promise made earlier in the film).Rated NC-17 For Explicit Gay Content .I will never trust any priest again.

dfwforeignbuff I watched this film a couple times the last 2 days 10/21 10/22 2013. I saw it first time on big screen in my dedicated TV/stereo room a couple years ago. For those not in the know almodovar is Gay and many of his movies concern gay subject matter. For the Right Wing conservative crowd Evangelists Fundamentalists and non liberated I do not recommend this movie. It is a very dark tale about child abuse homosexuality drag queens movie making and transsexuals. For the ordinary family and or parents of children I don't recommend either. This is a pretty shocking film. But I still love it and Love all almodovar films because they are so very unique. (and many of his films cover subject matter never before considered for film and most are quite shocking) I would write a longer review not but keep this one short. The movie is typical almodovar. Some claimed cinematography was average or poor. I disagree. Like almost all almodovar films this one plays fine and scenes cinematography is fine. the plot is very complicated. film about a book about and the film is in the making and the film is actually presented within the film. Don't get to wrapped up in the plot or what it means. Watch it a couple of times (no distractions) and all will be revealed. really the film is quite clever and outright funny in places (for being such a dark subject matter movie ) 4 stars.

April Brees Pedro Almodóvar's La mala educación is often summarized as a tragic tale of Franco-era childhood abuses suffered by two boys at the hands of their catholic priest. However it's also a story of ambiguity between traditional behavioral perceptions. Almodavar moves with fluidity, telling a story within a story while questioning traditional perceptions of roles such as the victim. In this story victims are plentiful and who we see as a victim can quickly become the victimizer. The manipulator dissolves into the manipulated.Two boys central to the plot, Enrique and Ignacio, are separated by space and time both longing to reconnect. Ignacio, an aspiring actor shows up with a movie script based off of their childhood experiences and abuses by their catholic Priest, Father Manolo. Enrique, a successful film director, is intrigued by the story but doesn't feel the same bond with Ignacio they once shared. Enrique has a hard time even recognizing Ignacio as his close childhood friend and first love.Enrique while researching for the movie script encounters dark details of betrayals and deceptions suffered as well as perpetrated by Ignacio. As a boy Ignacio was a victim and years later the tables had turned. Ignacio flipped upside down the balance of established roles by blackmailing Padre Manolo and in an unforeseen twist of events Padre Manolo transitions from the manipulating abuser to the manipulated pawn.In the end, the Ignacio that Enrique was desperately searching to find would turn out to be someone lost to him forever, sadly unrecognizable in the man he had recently reconnected with.

Karl Self This is an astounding, captivating movie, although I have to admit I didn't fully understand it, at least not at the first viewing. It's the type of movie that is complex and demanding and constantly switches back and forth, and it's still a pleasure to watch (not just an intellectual exercises). And it deals with transvestites and homosexuality and pedophilia and you can still watch it with your mother. It's so driven by the story that it still sucks you in. Pedro Almodovar takes you for a ride you had no idea you could be interested in.I'd recommend this to anyone who's interest goes beyond action movies, and don't be put off by the subject matter or the movie's "art house cinema" status.