(2004; La Mala Educaci鏮, Spanish) In Madrid, 1980, a young actor (Gael Garcia Bernal) comes to see Enrique Goded (Fele Martinez), a film director, claiming to be Ignacio Rodriguez, his chum from St John's Catholic School in Valencia, offering a story, "The Visit," he'd composed about their school days. Not having seen Ignacio for sixteen years, he's disappointed in his friend's transformation, asking to be called by his stage name, 聲gel Andrade.

The story concerns Zahara, a female impersonator on hormones and drugs, who with her transvestite partner Paquito plans to steal a motorcycle from a mark only to discover the inebriated young man in bed (rated NC-17 for strong homoerotic scenes) is her first love from Catholic school, Enrique Serrano Garcia, with whom she leaves a love letter.

She takes Paquito to see the school and cinema (where the two ten-year-old boys first groped each other) as well as the church where Father Manolo performs mass. While Zahara confronts the priest about the past, Paquito steals the chalice and other items. Claiming to be Ignacio's sister, Zahara shows Fr Manolo Ignacio's story, threatening blackmail if he refuses to pay one million pesetas to finance "a better body."

The priest reads a section in which his abusive relationship as a literature teacher (before his promotion to reverend principal) began with young Ignacio, a child with a beautiful voice, dividing the boy's life in half. At the same time Ignacio and Enrique fall in love, the latter influencing the former (afraid they have sinned) by saying he's a hedonist who doesn't believe in God or hell.

As Fr Manolo's attentions intensify, Ignacio loses his faith, fearing neither God nor hell, promising to do whatever is required of him so long as the reverend principal does not expel Enrique. The boy vows revenge when the priest reneges on his side of the bargain.

In search of fresh inspiration for his next film - two images from newspaper clippings capturing his attention: a dead motorcyclist escorted by two police officers across a frozen terrain and a woman being devoured by hungry crocodiles without screaming - Enrique eagerly agrees to direct "The Visit," but he refuses to consider 聲gel for Zahara's role. Determined, nevertheless, to earn the part, 聲gel researches drag queens, taking tips from the infamous Sara Montiel.

Meanwhile, Enrique drives to Galicia, paying a visit with Ignacio's mother, from whom he learns of Ignacio's death (she gives him her son's last letter intended for Enrique) and younger brother Juan's being an actor. Back at his home Enrique says to 聲gel: "I'm sure you're a good actor, more than ever."

Giving 聲gel the part of Zahara, Enrique, through whose eyes and camera lens all events are perceived, changes the ending of Ignacio's story, creating a different conclusion for his film, closer to reality. By now we are aware that the characters portraying the earlier events in director Pedro Almod镽ar's powerful picture are actors in Enrique's film.

Following shooting the final scene in Fr Manolo's sacristy, a visit from Mr Berenguer (Daniel Gim幯ez-Cacho), a publisher of young writers' fiction, provides Enrique with details of the actual end of Ignacio's life four years earlier.

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Copyright © 2008 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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