Bad Education

Theatrical Release Date: 2004 11 19 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396113510

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Profanity]

Summary: Filmmaker Pedro Almod?var takes a look at his own adolescence as well as confronting the issue of sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church in this stylish drama, which was chosen to open the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Enrique Goded (Fele Mart?nez) is a Spanish filmmaker who is having trouble settling on a new project when he's approached by Ignacio Rodriguez (Gael Garc?a Bernal), who was his close friend when they were schoolboys. Goded, who fell in love for the first time with Rodriguez, barely recognizes the man as his former crush, but agrees to read the short story he's written. The tale turns out to be an semi-autobiographical account of their days in a Catholic boarding school, in which a cross-dressing night-club performer named Zahara (also played by Bernal) hooks up with a man named Enrique (Alberto Ferreiro), who turns out to have been his first lover when he was a student. Recalling their school days, Zahara tracks down Father Manolo (Daniel Gim?nez Cacho), one of his teachers from school with pedophilic tendencies, and threatens to expose the priest's attempts to seduce him and ruin his relationship with Enrique years ago. Goded decides to use the story as the basis for his next film, and Rodriguez, an out-of-work actor, makes it clear he's eager to play Zahara. However, Goded isn't certain if Rodriguez is the right actor for the role, or if he's even the man he claims to be; an angry conflict with Rodriguez leads Goded back to the real Ignacio's mother (Petra Mart?nez). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Film Presented – New York Film Festival Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Best Foreign Film – National Board of Review Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Language Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film – New York Film Critics Circle Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Film Presented – Cannes Film Festival

Features: Audio commentary with director Pedro Almod?var
Deleted scenes
Red carpet footage from AFI Film Festival
Making of Bad Education
Photo gallery: Poster explorations
Original Spanish theatrical trailer
Bonus previews

Bad Education

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 04/12/2005

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 105 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) Spanish

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Start [3:01]
2. Ignacio [4:47]
3. Connection [3:55]
4. Enrique Again [5:26]
5. Two by Two [3:10]
6. Stealing From the Church [3:39]
7. Father Manolo [4:43]
8. Blackmail [3:10]
9. Torna a Sorrento [4:53]
10. Cinema Sin [2:48]
11. Predator [4:41]
12. Greenlighted [3:03]
13. La Perla [4:14]
14. Hungry Crocodiles [3:48]
15. Research [2:20]
16. Galacia [1:32]
17. Twist [4:02]
18. Audition [4:22]
19. Ignacio's End [5:10]
20. Mr. Berenguer [2:30]
21. Alternate Blackmail [3:25]
22. One Week [1:55]
23. Juan [3:47]
24. Death Plot [4:04]
25. Killing Time [3:27]
26. Split [4:12]
27. Goodbye to Juan [3:47]
28. Wrap Up [5:27]

Josh Ralske

It seems that with each passing film, Pedro Almod?var's palette gets a little darker. Bad Education is his most somber film to date (with the possible exception of Live Flesh), a brooding drama about past demons returning to the present, about lost love, lost faith, and mistaken identity, all haunted by the strains of "Moon River" and an ancient image of legendary Spanish singer-actress Sara Montiel. The film is filled with allusions to the past, to the repression and corruption of fascist Spain and a Catholic boarding school (like the one Almod?var attended), but also to a cinematic past that is clearly just as crucial to the world view of Almod?var and his tormented cast of characters. While Bad Education owes a tremendous debt to classic film noir, it's also an unquestionably personal work, beyond the simple fact that it's about a filmmaker, Enrique Goded (Fele Mart?nez) grappling with his influences, and with fiction's ultimate usefulness (and inadequacy) in dredging up the truths of the past. Almod?var has always excelled at writing strong female characters, but he seems to be growing less interested in that kind of projection, as in his last film, Talk to Her, they were all comatose, and in this one they're nonexistent, unless you count the film's cross-dressing "femme fatale," seductively played by Gael Garc?a Bernal, and his uproarious sidekick, Paca (Javier C?mara). Almod?var is an increasingly precise filmmaker, in terms of both image and sound, and this film, while rich and intricate, sacrifices some of the joyful spontaneity of his earlier work. It feels just a bit airless. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ignacio Perez  Actor 
Leonor Watling  Actor 
Juan Fernandez  Actor 
Francisco Maestre  Actor 
Francisco Boira  Actor 
Roberto Hoyas  Actor 
Sandra Carter Productions  Actor 
Agustín Almodóvar  Producer 
Pedro Almodóvar  Director 
Pedro Almodóvar  Screenwriter 
Esther Garcia  Executive Producer 
Alberto Iglesias  Composer (Music Score) 
Fele Martínez  Actor 
Gael García Bernal  Actor 
Gael García Bernal  Actor 
Gael García Bernal  Actor 
Daniel Jiménez Cacho  Actor 
Lluís Homar  Actor 
Javier Camára  Actor 
Petra Martínez  Actor 
Nacho Perez  Actor 
Raul Garcia Forneiro  Actor 
Alberto Ferreiro  Actor 

Country: Spain