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Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) (Broken Hugs) (2009)

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Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 144
Fresh: 117 | Rotten: 27

Pedro Almodovar's fourth film with Pen�lope Cruz isn't his finest work, but he brings his signature visual brilliance to this noirish tale, and the cast turns in some first-class performances.

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 3

Pedro Almodovar's fourth film with Pen�lope Cruz isn't his finest work, but he brings his signature visual brilliance to this noirish tale, and the cast turns in some first-class performances.

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Movie Info

A follow-up to Spanish enfant terrible Pedro Almod�var's 2006 arthouse sensation Volver, Los Abrazos Rotos finds the filmmaker re-teaming with actress Pen�lope Cruz and working on a canvas much broader than those of his previous outings, in terms of genres covered, narrative scope, and duration. Llu�s Homar stars as the former Mateo Blanco, a screenwriter and ex-director who changed his name to Harry Caine after losing his sight in an automobile accident. A past scandal suddenly resurfaces when

R, 2 hr. 8 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Directed By: Pedro Almod�var

Written By: Pedro Almod�var

In Theaters: Nov 20, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Mar 16, 2010

Box Office:$4.8M

Sony Pictures Classics

While it may not be Almod�var's greatest work, it still stands well above most other films in terms of intrigue, intelligence and innovation.

January 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Detroit News

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Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

This melancholy romance is the first Almodovar feature I've ever really liked, an expertly fashioned melodrama that steers mercifully clear of his usual puckishness and star-mongering.

January 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

One failing in the film is how boring it is to watch Cruz pretend to be a bad actress. The comic movie within a movie, which borrows from Women on the Verge, isn't funny.

January 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel

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Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

It all adds up to an entertaining mash of suspense and melodrama.

December 28, 2009 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle

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Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

As long as Almodovar keeps investing such thought and energy in his work, he can play with whatever themes he desires.

December 28, 2009 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

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Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

The story is twisted and complex, yet it emerges as sleek and unfussy. The characters' actions are grandly melodramatic, but the movie is close and intimate.

December 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

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Randy Cordova

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

Almod�var and Cruz fail to engage this time around.

December 31, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au

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Don Groves

sbs.com.au

Continues the director's streak of reliably elegant, original works, making the case, once again, that there are few other European directors working today who can match his particular blend of thought-provoking, artful, yet wholly accessible cinema.

July 4, 2010 Full Review Source: DCist

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Ian Buckwalter

DCist

Um dos piores trabalhos de Almod�var, aqui totalmente entregue � auto-indulg�ncia, ao melodrama barato e �s caricaturas (o que n�o � novidade), mas sem a sensibilidade costumeira que normalmente contrabalan�a seus excessos.

June 19, 2010 Comment

Pablo Villaca

Cinema em Cena

Pedro Almodovar reteams with Penelope Cruz, and you have your review right there.

May 10, 2010 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

I must be completely dazzled by Pedro Almod�var's current skills as a filmmaker because I really enjoyed Broken Embraces even though I had several reasons not to.

March 24, 2010 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews

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Jeffrey Chen

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The broken field running of the film's time line requires each viewer to reassemble the story in his head.

March 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

One of Almod�var's weakest films is worth checking out on DVD for Carmen Machi's performance in the short film The Cannibalistic Councillor.

March 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

Writer director Pedro Almodovar and his longtime muse Penelope make movie magic in this melodramatic mystery, Broken Embraces.

February 23, 2010 Comment

Staci Layne Wilson

StaciWilson.com

While the writing isn't as sharp or as funny as it is in Almodovar's best movies, so be it--it's a hell of a lot sharper and more interesting than most of the mass-produced movies coming out of Hollywood.

February 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)

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Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

This meandering melodrama is too fractured, too soap opera-ish and is just too odd ... even by the Oscar-winning, Spanish filmmaker's usual standards.

February 4, 2010 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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Jeff Vice

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Above all, "Broken Embraces" shows how deeply Almod�var is in love with movies, not just as things to be watched and enjoyed, but to be felt deep in the bones.

February 4, 2010 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI)

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Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Gives us few reasons not to stay to the ending, but the ultimate revelation of Blanco's pain ... disappoints.

January 31, 2010 Comment

Sean O'Connell

Charlotte Weekly Source: Charlotte Weekly

A very worthy close-out for his remarkable output of the last decade.

January 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A cliche-ridden exercise that never exhibits any real heart and focuses on characters who never come alive, it also never comes close to living up to the promise of the names in the credits.

January 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Times-Picayune

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Mike Scott

Times-Picayune

In Almod�var, the past is reckoned by characters of the present, a layering over which we revel.

January 16, 2010 Full Review Source: IdentityTheory

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Matthew Sorrento

IdentityTheory

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) (Broken Hugs)

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Standard fare for Almodovar. And I dont mean that in a negative way. This man coasting is still leaps and bounds more fascinating than the pet projects of many directors. It is hyper-sexual, highly-stylized, and has melodrama oozing out of every pore. The production is regal and elegant, with brilliant colors bursting

April 6, 2012

Reid Volk

Super Reviewer

The scope of human suffering and joy is fervently wide in Almodovar's take on love, lust, and relationships in his first broad genre film. The film showcases a beatific premise of following the love affair of two ill fated star crossed lovers, thrown together in the strangest of circumstances, beating back barriers put

July 10, 2011