In Pedro Amoldovar's 'Bad Education', a film maker starts to collaborate with his childhood lover when the latter turns up with a script based on the consequences of their previous experiences together. But what is fact, and what is fiction; and who owns the rights to interpret their past? It's an intriguing and distinctive premise for what turns out to be an intelligent, tricksy thriller, and being an Amoldovar film there's also skillful direction, beautiful people and deviant sexuality in the mix. The ending, however, is less satisfactory: the conclusion depends on someone turning up from nowhere and filling in the missing pieces, and after a low-key ending, the final twenty years of plot is summarised in captions before the closing credits. And on reflection, perhaps the twisted narrative is actually a negative: the story might be stronger if allowed to unfold chronologically. But this is still a stylish and unique movie, even if it can't quite deliver its full promise.
Review of Bad Education
