Talk to Her

In Pedro Aldomovar’s typically unorthodox and striking ‘Talk to me’ two men, Benigno and Marco, struggle to fight against the forces of desire and mortality.
Much of the power of Aldomovar’s Academy Award winning film comes from paralleling the behavior of two men trapped in the same situation.
Benigno and Marco befriend themselves when they met in a private clinic where they are both tending their women, Alicia and Lydia, who lie prostrate, in hospital beds, in comas. Benigno is a nurse at the clinic whilst Marco spends all his time there.
The men are desperately in love with their women. Benigno loves the beauty and delicacy of ballerina, Alicia, whilst Marco is subsumed by the uncompromising, wild spirited nature of bullfighter Lydia. The men display a primal tenderness to the women.
Somewhere along the line, and this is where the films mystery lies, Marco manages to cut himself distance from Lydia, whereas the boundaries between Benigno and Alicia tragically dissolve.
My take on ‘Talk to Her’, a fine and sensitive film from one of contemporary cinemas finest directors.