Ìý After garnering international acclaim with films like All About My Mother and Talk To Her, director Pedro Almodóvar did the same again with Bad Education. "Unmissable for any fan of the Spanish master," it follows the lives of two boys who suffer sexual abuse at a Catholic school in the 60s. It stars Gael GarcÃa Bernal (previously seen in Amores Perros and Y Tu Mamá También) and Fele MartÃnez.
A Religious Experience
Two deleted scenes make up the centrepiece of this very spartan package of extras. Together they form a sequence where Enrique (Fele MartÃnez) and Paquito (Javier Cámara) return a swag bag of stolen goods to the San Juan school and confront Father Manolo (Daniel Giménez Cacho) about the mysterious disappearance of Ignacio (Francisco Boira). It's an effective acting showreel for a weepy Cámara, but there are no epiphanies to be had here.
If you access the DVD on your computer, you can download a PDF version of the press book, which contains detailed notes about the story and a very in-depth interview with Pedro Almodóvar. "I had to make Bad Education," he insists. "I had to get it out of my system before it became an obsession." He's also quick to point out that the story is not autobiographical, saying, "It is not a settling of scores with priests who 'bad educated' me."
The Good Word
It's a shame Almodóvar doesn't offer any video interviews. Instead of a 'making of' featurette, we're offered an inconsequential 'making of' montage that catches him in tiny snippets of behind-the-scenes footage. The stars of the film also have nothing to say for themselves - not even in Spanish with subtitles.
An array of photo galleries pads out the disc with the best of these being a collection of snaps taken by Almodóvar on the set. There's no mistaking his eye for detail and precise composition, but this hardly makes up for all the fluff. Bad Education offers little edification on DVD.
EXTRA FEATURES
The Bad Education DVD is out to buy on Monday 27th December 2004.
