Talk to Her

We are spectators of Pina Bausch's dance creations. Two men are sitting in the audience: one is crying, the other is watching. With this symmetry, at first absurd, then logical, the film begins. From the very first image, we know that we will be watching two stories that intersect in the same state of waiting. Benigno, a young nurse, has been caring for a young dancer, Alicia, who has fallen into a coma after an accident. He falls in love with the motionless and mute young woman, telling her about everything he does. At the same clinic, he meets his neighbour from the theatre. Marco is a writer, a friend of the bullfighter Lydia, who is also in a coma after being picked up by a bull. Both men are waiting to see if the women will wake up: one secretly loves a girl who would normally be out of reach for him, the other doesn't need to hide his love but suspects it is lost. One believes and hopes, the other doubts. Almodóvar moves from one to the other, chronicling the banal rituals of hospital care, before arriving at a surprising conclusion.