In this powerful semi-autobiographical film, acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, TALK TO HER) tracks the formative experiences of his coming of age in a Catholic boys school. While the film benefits from Almodovar's limitless range of color, beauty, and moving expression, the themes presented are dark and difficult. Pedophilia, lost love, mistaken identity, manipulation, drug addiction, and desperation prevail, giving this otherwise sexy and vibrant film a chilling subtext.

Gael Garcia Bernal gives a jaw-dropping performance, playing two of the main characters. First, he plays a screenwriter named Ignacio, who reunites with his childhood friend, Enrique (Fele Martinez), a filmmaker, to sell him a script called "The Visit." He also plays the star of "The Visit"--a gorgeous cross-dresser and drug addict named Zahara. Enrique instantly realizes that the script is the story of their childhood, where they met and fell in love, only to be torn apart by a jealous pedophilic priest, Father Manolo (Daniel Gimenez-Cacho). However, Ignacio looks nothing like the boy that Enrique remembers as his best friend and first love. As the mystery of their past begins to unfold, layers of lies and deception are peeled away to reveal a delicate core of innocence lost. Almodovar's message is not one of hopelessness--it is rather a recognition of the inevitable hardening of the soul that is fundamental to survival in a less-than-perfect world.