I watched this three times. The first viewing left me a bit confused and that confusion was pretty much cleared up with a second viewing. The third viewing was to appreciate Almodovar's artistry without being distracted by having to read subtitles. I know of no other director who uses color so effectively.The story is a bit complicated. Suffice it to say that it involves homosexual relationships, a pedophile priest, transvestism, blackmail, young boys masturbating, murder, drug use, and stories within stories. Those elements may be enough to keep many people away, but the emphasis is more on the role sexuality plays in people's lives and how people sometimes use it to accomplish goals that are not ostensibly sexual.Gael Garcia Bernal brings a dynamism and magnetism to the screen that I find rare in contemporary actors. He plays two roles here and, as the transvestite Zahara, I think he would turn the heads of many heterosexuals.As the miscreant priest Father Manolo, Daniel Cacho emotes such an obsessional desire for his favored young boy that it is disturbing. As much as we have heard about pedophilia among the priesthood in recent years, I cannot think of many fictional movies where this has been treated in any detail. Many of the scenes here have such a feeling of authenticity that I suspect that Almodovar has revealed some intimate details of his own life. The victimized young boy says that he lost his faith while in Catholic school. Given the nature of his experiences there, this is not surprising. He says that losing his faith allowed him to do anything. Almodovar does a disservice to atheists if anyone takes that statement as a general truth. Also, the fact that the victimized boy grows up to be a transvestite should not be viewed as a necessary effect of having been molested.Maybe a bit over the top, but there is enough in this to entertain most people who are not put off by the subject matter.

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.

As a relatively impartial observer (not homophobic, not homosexual), I found this to be an outstandingly dull film. In truth, the acting isn't bad and the plot line is cleverly constructed but what is it about and do we really care? There's a vague reference to the pederasts of the Catholic Church in there which might have been interesting if fully explored but it says nothing about the relationship at all and simply focuses on a theme of misplaced love. It's not predictable either as the plot is nicely constructed around a film that has been inspired by the events in the pasts of the protagonists. Yet it says nothing, does nothing and continues at a leaden pace, neither intriguing nor entertaining. Much as I love my gay friends, it reflected what is for me at least the vacuity of the homosexual lifestyle...surely it can only be appreciated by gay people?!?!

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.