Movie Review – Bad Education

Bad Education (2004)
Written & Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

Few directors working today seem to enjoy the richness of film images more than Pedro Almodovar. Every film he puts out is always full of bold color and intriguing framing & blocking. His stories are complex labyrinths where narratives are rarely linear, the past often haunting the present. Much of Bad Education is set around what the audience doesn’t know, putting us in the protagonist’s shoes. They are learning about the line between fiction and truth, letting the audience enter their imagination and then see how what they pictured matches with the people and events as they actually happened. I wouldn’t blame someone watching this for the first time for feeling confused; it takes at least a couple viewings to fully grasp what is happening in the picture. 

In 1980, film director Enrique (Fele Martínez) is visited at his offices by a struggling actor (Gael Garcia Bernal) who claims to be Enrique’s old school friend, Ignacio. Ignacio is now going under the name Angel which Enrique has trouble remembering. To create a connection and possible future job, Ignacio shares a short story he’s written titled “The Visit.” The audience is transported into the story as Enrique reads it, returning to 1977 when a transgender drag queen named Zahara (also Bernal) plans to rob a drunken fan but learns he is an old school friend named Enrique (Confused yet?). Zahara decides to confront Father Manolo, a priest who abused her as a child. Her demands are one million pesos in exchange for not publishing her story, which serves as an expose of this period. We then go into Zahara’s memories from 1964, where she, as a little boy, is preyed upon by Manolo. 

On the surface level reality, Enrique believes this short could be adapted into a successful film. However, Angel will only agree to sell the story if he is cast as Zahara. Enrique finds that his old friend doesn’t seem much like he remembered from childhood and begins to wonder what the truth is that Angel seems intent on hiding away. Eventually, a film is staged, but figures from Enrique and Angel’s pasts emerge. Eventually, through flashback, we see how the events of “The Visit” played out and develop an entirely new understanding of what is really going on.

If you are a fan of Almodovar, you know the filmmaker loves melodrama and always manages to present along that thin line of titillation and artistry. This film received an NC-17 rating from American censors, which I can only assume is because it vaguely depicts acts of gay sex. I have seen far more explicit cis-hetero sex scenes in R-rated films, but this is par for the course with the MPAA. Transgressive sexual behavior has historical importance, as during the fascist Franco regime in Spain, when the story takes place, homosexual behavior was illegal and punished brutally. Almodovar seems to play with these notions by making everything but the actual act visible, including some expert sound design.

One of the director’s core influences for this picture is Alfred Hitchcock, particularly his masterpiece Vertigo. Both films feature a central character with multiple identities and looks. The opening credits are a nod to Saul Bass’ visionary film introductions. Our protagonist is someone outside the real story trying to make sense of what is going on, being manipulated by someone he has a connection with from childhood. Almodovar does one better and allows one version of a character to exist entirely within the confines of a fictional story within the film universe. It’s a sense of playfulness that Almodovar excels at so wonderfully. 

This film also came early in Gael Garcia Bernal’s “discovery” in Y Tu Mama Tambien, and you can see why he has had such a lucrative career in the two decades since. Bernal is such a charismatic and effortless talent. He can play multiple characters here and thoroughly convinces us of their authenticities. As a transgender drag queen, the actor completely disappears thanks to costuming, hair, and make-up, but most important is his performance. 

There can be an effort to try and extract deep political meaning from Almodovar’s work, but I find him to be pretty apolitical. He references Spain’s past, but his movies rarely try to make statements. Instead, they are character-focused first, and if a “message” naturally emerges from the performance, then so be it. Otherwise, I see the director as a stylist first. His films look incredible, and his lighting can make scenes appear like moving oil paintings. Even if you don’t rank him among the greatest living directors, you must admit he is a stunning production designer and lighting expert. He can communicate his vision to his crew, and they execute it flawlessly.

And so, our Queer Cinema series ends with one week remaining in Pride Month. I think this year and going forward, it is essential that everyone make clear statements as to their support of the LGBTQ community. It shouldn’t be something we wait until June to declare but an ongoing allyship that is apparent all year. The same goes for BIPOC, the disabled, the homeless, the working class, etc. Modern mass media is a powerfully dangerous tool, something clearly recognized by nations across the globe and for decades. The enemies of equality, the reactionaries, are clearly intent on using the media to push their warped, hateful view of humanity. It is up to everyone who supports an inclusive world to use whatever platform they have, no matter how small, to speak up on behalf of the marginalized.

Queer people have existed for just as long as cis straight people. What obscures that truth is the perversity of religious beliefs that tout suppression as an act of worship. I’m of the mind that if there is an all-powerful deity in charge of things, they want a species that is diverse, expressive, joyful, and beautiful in all its forms. We can see this in the diversity of other life forms, including the complexity of sexuality and reproduction among these creatures. Genderfluidity is a fact of nature. Same-sex relationships happen among animals, and it’s widely documented from penguins to sheep to ducks. It is unnatural to violently deny this reality, push legislation whose only purpose is to do harm, and punish children for expressing their identities. 

The reactionaries, the fascists, and the right-wingers want an oppressive society where everyone conforms to their aesthetics, their sexual proclivities, and submission to them mostly. We must refuse this movement by any means necessary. We do not want to do harm, but if the forces of oppression draw a line that says it is their continued existence or the lives of our queer people, we know the answer we must respond with. Once again, violence is not a preferred response, but self-defense is non-negotiable. This is not the first time in the story of humanity that these insecure, sexually warped types have tried to stomp down people who have learned to live in their skins. I hope that we can make it the final one. We cannot afford to wait around and see if they round up queer people, we cannot negotiate on the presence of human beings in their own society, and we cannot let them deflect from the abuses of powerful institutions (the Church the most hideous among them) and place the blame on communities that are actually safe havens for those abused & harmed children. They are here, they are queer, and you can get used to it or go live in a hole.