Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos)

The new Almodovar feels a bit like the magnificent Spanish auteur has recycled some of his old movies. Certainly he's re-used a number of his actors. Broken Embraces stars Lluís Homar (Bad Education) as a director recalling his love for an actress, Lena (Penélope Cruz), who was also the mistress of a powerful businessman. He recounts much of this story to Diego, son of his manager and agent Judit, played by Blanca Portillo (Volver). Of course, there is a complex melodramatic Almodovar-esque plot, with evocative music by Alberto Iglesias. Events and people from the past haunting characters in the present--an Almodovar trademark. Judit's unwillingness to tell her son the truth about the past--particularly about his father--remniscent of Manuela and her son in my favorite Almodovar, All About My Mother. Obsessive characters (Ernesto, son of Lena's businessman lover), multiple identities (both the director and Ernesto Jr. have changed their names), and characters that don't always tell you the truth--more hallmarks of Almodovar. Yet somehow this film misses some of the freshness of his other work. Still, there's nobody that can weave a web and tell a story like Pedro Almodovar. (7/10)