Bad Education, directed by Pedro Almodovar, is a story within a story. We follow the two characters of Ignacio and Enrique who are childhood friends from their time at an all boys boarding school. Years later, Enrique works as a movie director and Ignacio, who now goes by the name Angel, is an actor who brings in a script he has written loosely based on their childhood.

One aspect of this film is its use of non-linear storytelling. Similar to some of the other films we have previously watched for this class, Bad Education makes use of oscillating back-and-forth between the present day 1980s, and the mid 1970s. However, what makes this film unique from the others is the fact that half of what we see on screen is actually fictionalized. At the very beginning of the movie, the character Ignacio, or Angel, visits Enrique, a childhood friend from their time at an all-boy’s boarding school. Angel gives Enrique a manuscript he has written titled The Visit. This story tells a tale loosely based on their time at school together with some creative liberties added. One half of the film is “real life” as Enrique reads through the script and then as he learns more about Angel. The other half is the actual filming of The Visit. 

On first viewing, the constant back-and-forth between the manuscript and reality can become blurred, the viewer often becoming confused with what is fiction and what is real. Almodovar’s editing style enhances this aspect as there is no distinction made between the manuscript story and reality. The only time when we clearly see the filming of the story is towards the end during the scene in which the priests murder Ignacio in order to end his blackmailing of them– the camera cuts between the scene and those behind the camera.

This way of making the film allows the audience to become as invested in the manuscript as Enrique. We feel as though we are watching what is playing out in his mind when he is reading it which adds an intimate aspect to the movie.