Broken Embraces

Broken Embraces Spanish Los abrazos rotos is a 2009 Spanish romantic thriller film written, produced, and directed by Pedro Almodvar. Led by an ensemble cast consisting of many Almodvar regulars, it stars Llus Homar as a blind Madrilenian screenwriter who recalls his tragic love for Lena, played by Penlope Cruz, the deceased lead actress in his last directional feature Girls and Suitcases, who was also the mistress of a powerful, obsessive businessman Jos Luis Gmez. Blanca Portillo costars as his agent Judit, while Tamar Novas portrays her son and Caines cowriter Diego.

Harry Caine is a blind writer who shares his life with his agent Judit and her adult son, Diego. Slowly, events in the present begin to bring back memories of the past. Harry hears that millionaire Ernesto Martel has died a young filmmaker, Ray X, appears and turns out to be Martels son, Ernesto, Jr. After Diego is hospitalized for an accidental drug overdose in a Madrid nightclub, Harry collects Diego from the hospital and looks after him to avoid worrying his traveling mother. The main storyline is told in flashback as Harry reluctantly tells Diego a tragic tale of fate, jealousy, abuse of power, betrayal, and guilt.The first flashback is to 1992, which introduces Magdalena Lena Rivero, Martels beautiful young secretary, an aspiring actress. She becomes close to Martel, a millionaire financier, in order to find the money to help meet her dying fathers medical bills. By 1994, she has become Martels mistress. At this time, Harry is still living under his real name, Mateo Blanco, a wellrespected film director. Martel is excessively possessive of Lena, but she is determined to become an actress and manages to win the main role in Blancos film Chicas y maletas Girls and Suitcases by bringing Martel in as financierproducer. The fictional film is similar to Almodvars 1988 release, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, except that the Shiite terrorists have been replaced by a cocaine dealer several of the cast of the previous film appear in the fictional one. Martel spies on Lena and Mateo by sending his inhibited, effeminate gay son, Ernesto, Jr., to videotape the production of the film, ostensibly for a making of feature, then hiring a lipreader to interpret the conversations. Martel, seething with jealousy, screens the videos as the lipreader narrates the furtive whispers of Lena and Mateos passionate affair. ........

Source: Wikipedia