Benigno's Relationship With Alicia example essay topic

Pedro Almodovar, in his recent films Talk to Her (Able con Ella) (2002) and Live Flesh (Carne Tr " emu la) (1997), has brought a thoroughly modern interpretation to the genre of melodrama. These fresh illustrations of human love, loneliness, frustration and individuality explore the complexity of human interaction and interestingly, in Talk to Her, the interactions of the sentient in relation to the insentient. 'Nothing is simple,' Alicia's ballet teacher muses in Talk to Her, this statement accurately captures the essential Pedro Almodovar style. Both of the works selected for analysis in this essay are melodramas. The word " melodrama' originated from the Greek root which directly translated means " music drama'. These films do incorporate music to add to the emotional impact of certain scenes.

Examples of this are: (a) in Live Flesh! When Victor is watching TV in prison and sees Elena and David celebrating David's new career, there is a close up of Victors face conveying his hurt accompanied by music in-keeping with Victor's frame of mind. This increases the impact for the viewers as the music is in contrast with Elena and David's joy. (b) in Talk to Her the same tense, measured music is used during several scenes to denote their importance in the narrative (when Benigno is about to speak to Alicia for the first time, at the beginning of Lydia's last fight and when Marco is rushing to the prison in an attempt to stop Benigno from taking drastic measures in prison.) The use of in these films is also apparent. The newsreel of the coverage of Victor's birth is significant.

Victor's mother appears cold and restrained compared to the intimacy the audience achieves in the scene prior as we hear her cries from her labour pains. In Talk to Her the opening and closing performance art pieces are an outlet for the emotional pain and turmoil which Marco must grapple with. The silent movie too expresses more efficiently what is occurring for Benigno on an emotional level than a depiction of the act of rape could have. Apart from the use of music, colour is integral to Almodovar's melodrama. In Live Flesh! the walls of the apartments where the characters live, as well as the school where Victor and Elena work, are warm and vibrant. The contrast between dark green and deep reds and mustard's provide a cosines's that puts the viewer at their ease.

The hospital in Talk to Her is painted sienna-mustard and gray-green. Almodovar explains 'I wanted to avoid convention. No coldness, no bluish tones I told Javier (the director of photography for Talk to Her). It's like their [the characters'] home. I didn't want the spectator to be faced with an atmosphere of pain or illness. What I wanted to show was the everyday life of some people who live there.

' The use of colour is also instrumental in Pedro Almodovar's pop-art style. The incorporation of classical Catholic-themed oil paintings in Elena's bedroom and also the images Lydia's sister is arranging in the hotel before the bull fight are examples of the pop-art movement. Almodovar was a significant influence on the emerging culture of Spanish youth since the 1980's. Almodovar's exploration of issues such as the drug culture in a non-traditional manner is evident in both movies.

The narrative does not directly comment on Elena's addiction to freebase cocaine and gratuitously Sancho asks David if he has any cocaine because 'coke dries your tears'. The film's ideology seems to condone David's cannabis smoking as a healthier alternative to Sancho's drug of choice, namely, alcohol. Marco can be seen to be smoking a joint while he looks on at Benigno, Alicia and Alicia's ballet teacher on their balcony, in Talk to Her too. This is significant in that it is an example of the liberalization of Spanish culture since the death of Franco and the emergence of Spain from that dictatorial, repressive regime. The exploration of the body and sexuality are recurring themes in Almodovar's work.

In Talk to Her examples of this are Alicia's nudity, the concept of the body asa landscape and Benigno's dedication to Alicia, even though to the rest of the world she is merely perceived as a body and no more. Even the words of Alicia's father's secretary when she is on the phone to her friend 'I've just taken an elephant-sized dump' is expressive of the Spanish willingness to discuss the functions of the body that may have repugnant connotations in other cultures. The deeply intimate love scene of the silent movie shall be discussed at length. However, at this point it must be pointed out that one would find it difficult explore the female form with any closer proximity on film and with such tenderness and dignity as Talk to Her achieved. The awareness of the body and sexuality are elevated too in Live Flesh! The scene which denotes David's shooting and subsequent paralysis is quick, noisy and immediate.

It is not overly dramatis ed, which could have thrown out the delicate emotional balance so early in the film had that moment been exploited. The empathy and delicacy with which Almodovar portrays David and his state of disability, shows a maturity born of this cultural bodily accessibility. The reis a sense of pathos for David's situation however, not actual pity. Also, Almodovar does not deal with disability in an exaggerated politically correct manner, which perhaps demonstrates a greater appreciation for the feelings of those in a situation such as David's. After his confrontation with Elena, David says sarcastically in response to her statement that she will stay with him because he needs her more than Victor does, 'Fine, I will keep exploiting your guilt complex. ' The use of that statement is not strictly politically correct and yet it conveys a deep understanding of David's frustration with his situation.

The honesty and bravery at his own expense allows Almodovar to use such a statement effectively. This concept is important too in the understanding of Talk to Her. The heroines of the film are both in a comatose state for the main body of the film. The ethical question of how should those who care for people in a non-sentient state relate to them. Hand in hand with this the question arises of whether the comatose human is less of a person due to their state. Benigno, due to his isolated and "unique" adolescence sees the comatose Alicia as no less of a person.

He takes better care of her and is closer to her at that time than anyone else. Lydia, we see in one scene, does not receive the same careful attentions as Alicia does. As Benigno sees it, he and Alicia "get along better than most couples I know". Of course, there is no question that Benigno's "rape" of Alicia was an immoral act because it was non-consensual. However, the viewer's heart aches for the selfless Benigno who is, in prison, distraught with anxiety over his separation from Alicia.

The ethical question of our understanding of people, and the ethics of the body is central to Talk to Her. Benigno's relationship with Alicia is carefully constructed on film to convey the tenderness of his care for her. There is a scene where Benigno and another female nurse are bathing Alicia and discover that she is menstruating. While the nurse wears gloves while washing Alicia, treating the body of the comatose woman more like a slab of meat than like a human being, Benigno gently sponges Alicia down.

Benigno's conversation with Alicia is constant, though one-sided. He has embraced her world (through continuing her hobby of attending performance art and silent theatre) and informs her of what is occurring in the outside world for four years. He even collects an autograph for her from Caf'e Muller. It is through the act of the rape that Alicia's mind revives and so Benigno, through his act of love, revives Alicia.

The theme of love is demonstrated in the complex emotional exchange of the characters. Most interestingly in this film is Benigno's relationship with Alicia. Benigno, for his own experience of the events of the film, is in a loving relationship with Alicia. He is the only one who is able to "Talk to Her" and must teach Marco to communicate. Despite the fact that the fetus does not survive, the euphemism of the silent movie "the Shrinking Lover" aptly captures the essence of the rape. The separation between the lovers is immense, and yet, through this selfless - yet non-consensual - intrusion, a part of Benigno does live inside Alicia forever.

The experience of her comatose state occupied four years of her life, without Benigno's interference she would not have awakened to sentience again. The end of the film also raises some question of the impact the interaction with others (who spoke to her when she was in a coma) has on her after her awakening. She seems to have an instant attraction to Marco, possibly born out of the familiarity of his proximity. What then, might she have felt for Benigno?

Benigno also has a loving relationship with Marco. It does not really seem to be a romantic relationship, despite Benigno's ambiguous sexuality. Marco even tells Benigno that he can tell the other prisoners that he is Benigno's boyfriend if he wants to, more it seems as a charm against Benigno's loneliness. Since Benigno has had such little social contact with others, he has a heightened sense of the importance of such bonds.

Benigno says that he would like to hug Marco "I've hugged very few people in my life" Benigno says. Yet the scene in the prison, before this dialogue has an interesting effect. Marco and Benigno are separated by a panel of glass in the prison as they are talking. Almodovar and the director of photography managed to incorporate Marco's reflection on the glass, over Benigno's face, as if they were melting into one image. This is much like making love. It bridges their separation, as the love scene in the silent movie does.

Marco, with his deeper understanding of Benigno, is able to take responsibility for the situation. Marco realizes the difficult ethical implications of Benigno's actions. Loneliness, as a foil for the theme of love, is integral to this film. Each character seems alienated, isolated in the film. At intervals this loneliness is forgotten, dissolved in love. Perhaps Alicia and Marco are the final cure for each other's loneliness, as the end product of these previous relationships that have ended in heartache.

Perhaps, for each other, Marco and Alicia will still be no more than a temporary raft in an ocean of loneliness. Perhaps, in the present age we are condemned to making do with a series of "intimate strangers" rather than a single life partner. The film Live Flesh! explores the responsibility of sexuality. The film opens with Victor's birth, the result of his mother's sexual activity as a prostitute, just after Christmas (an event alleged to celebrate the exact day of Jesus' birth [not, apparently, the result of sexual activity] and hence the birth of the New Testament and an enormous religious following, the birth of Christ is therefore considered as an overtly positive and important event for Christians to this day).

The next important event in the film is Victor's one night stand with Elena, and the events which follow result in life changing consequences for all involved. Aside from David's injury (the result of David sleeping with Sancho's wife), David and Elena fall in love and marry and Victor goes to prison. The sexual relations between Victor and Clara and Victor and Elena subsequent to his release all have major consequences, Elena's divorce from Davis and the deaths of both Clara and Sancho. Sancho points out just prior to his death that he "should have shot your balls off when I had the chance". Yes, that would have made life easier and more boring for all characters concerned.