Talk to Her (2002) is a hugely rich and interesting though ambiguous film that met with both popular success and critical acclaim. The film won an Oscar for best original screenplay and has been hailed by some critics as Pedro Almodovar's masterpiece. Yet like most of Almodovar's films, little is clear cut. The characters are complex and our affinity and empathy for them shifts throughout the film. In Studying Talk to Her, Emily Hughes provides an in-depth analysis of both the formal elements of the film (its narrative, genre, and auteur study) and the themes and issues it raises, discussing the social context of modern Spain and its old, traditional iconography; shifting attitudes towards gender; and, crucially, the film's uneasy, morally ambiguous depiction of rape and the spectator's reaction to it.

About the Author
Emily Hughes is lead teacher of film studies at Morpeth School in Bethnal Green, London.


Book Information
ISBN 9781906733438
Author Emily Hughes
Format Paperback
Page Count 148
Imprint Auteur Publishing
Publisher Liverpool University Press
Weight(grams) 170g