Trailers
Description
When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.
Starring
Awards
Key opinion
Bad Education is widely regarded as a complex, multilayered exploration of trauma, memory, and identity through a meta-fictional lens. While fans of Almodóvar praise its intricate storytelling and bold atmosphere, some viewers find the explicit portrayal of sexual themes and the shifting narrative structure alienating or provocative.
| Screenplay | The intricate screenplay successfully uses a meta-fictional structure that blurs the lines between reality and the film-within-a-film to keep viewers engaged. | |
| Acting | Gael García Bernal delivers a multifaceted, impressive performance that anchors the film's complex shifting identity. | |
| Ending | The film’s unpredictable ending is frequently praised for providing a powerful and satisfying resolution to the tangled mystery. | |
| Theme | Opinions on the film's explicit sexual content and exploration of queer relationships are divided; supporters find them central to the film’s authentic, daring vision, while critics view them as sensationalist or gratuitous. | |
| Accessibility | The film's tone and accessibility spark disagreement, as some find the atmospheric, glossy aesthetic deeply engrossing, whereas others label the characters and dialogue as cold or unengaging. |