# Broken Embraces
**Broken Embraces** (Spanish: *Los abrazos rotos*) is a 2009 Spanish drama film written and directed by [Pedro Almodóvar](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-almodovar), starring [Penélope Cruz](https://www.edgepedia.org/penelope-cruz), Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez, Tamar Novas, and Rubén Ochandiano[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/los-abrazos-rotos-broken-embraces-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mje2mjk). It tells the story of a blind former film director who, under his pseudonym Harry Caine, recounts the affair with an actress that ended in a car crash on [Lanzarote](https://www.edgepedia.org/lanzarote), costing him both his sight and the woman he loved[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/). The film was produced by Almodóvar's company El Deseo and was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/) • [4](https://www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / year | *Los abrazos rotos*; Spain, 2009, drama[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/) |
| Director and writer | Pedro Almodóvar; produced by El Deseo (producer Esther García)[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/) • [5](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/17/4815-broken-embraces) |
| Principal cast | Penélope Cruz (Lena), Lluís Homar (Mateo Blanco / Harry Caine), Blanca Portillo (Judit García), José Luis Gómez (Ernesto Martel), Tamar Novas (Diego), Rubén Ochandiano (Ray X)[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/los-abrazos-rotos-broken-embraces-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mje2mjk) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces/cast-and-crew) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Rodrigo Prieto, music Alberto Iglesias, editing José Salcedo[5](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/17/4815-broken-embraces) |
| Spanish release and box office | Released 18 March 2009; grossed €4,173,100.04 in Spain on 696,722 admissions[7](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=103708) |
| Running time | Approximately 122 minutes as classified by the BBFC; the Spanish ICAA database lists 130 minutes[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/los-abrazos-rotos-broken-embraces-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mje2mjk) • [7](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=103708) |
| Festival profile | Official selection at Cannes 2009 and Toronto; closing night selection of the New York Film Festival[4](https://www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens in the present with Harry Caine, a blind writer living in Madrid who signs his literary work with that playful pseudonym; his real name is Mateo Blanco, the name he once used as a film director[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/). Fourteen years earlier he suffered a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote in which he lost not only his sight but also Lena, the love of his life[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/). After the accident he reduced himself to his pseudonym, surviving on the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote alongside Lena[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/).
In the present he gets by thanks to the scripts he writes and the help of his former production manager, Judit García, and her son Diego, who works as his secretary, typist, and guide[8](https://www.moreliafilmfest.com/en/peliculas/los-abrazos-rotos). One night Diego has an accident, and while Harry sits up with him he tells the story of his past as if it were a tale told to send a child to sleep[8](https://www.moreliafilmfest.com/en/peliculas/los-abrazos-rotos). The story is framed by a photograph of two lovers embracing, torn into pieces, which gives the film its title[8](https://www.moreliafilmfest.com/en/peliculas/los-abrazos-rotos).
The flashback centers on a love triangle. Lena, played by Penélope Cruz, is the mistress of the wealthy businessman Ernesto Martel, who funds the film Mateo is directing so he can keep an eye on her; when she leaves him for the director, jealousy and revenge follow, ending in the crash[9](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/broken-embraces.html). In the present, a visit from the young filmmaker Ray X, who wants to make a film about the recently deceased Ernesto Martel, prompts Harry's reckoning with his past[10](https://lwlies.com/reviews/broken-embraces).
## The film within the film
*Broken Embraces* is built around films inside the film. Mateo's movie *Girls and Suitcases* is a re-envisioning of Almodóvar's own *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), with cameos from veteran Almodóvar actors such as Chus Lampreave[10](https://lwlies.com/reviews/broken-embraces). Ernesto's son is hired to shoot a video documentary about the making of *Girls and Suitcases*, under the pretext of which he spies on Mateo and Lena[11](https://www.thinkingfaith.org/fr/articles/film_20090911_2.htm). Critics noted the resulting structure as a film within a film within a film, and a study of the filmmaking process itself[12](https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2009/1212/Broken-Embraces-movie-review) • [11](https://www.thinkingfaith.org/fr/articles/film_20090911_2.htm).
## Lanzarote and the origin of the project
The project began with a photograph. Almodóvar took it nine years before the shoot, on his first visit to Lanzarote, on the beach next to the Charco de los Clicos in El Golfo, and only later noticed that he had unwittingly captured a couple embracing in a corner of the frame[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/). In the publicity guide he described the island's effect on him: "I had never seen such dramatic colors in nature. For me it was not a landscape, but a state of mind, a character. From that moment on I wanted to shoot there."[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/)
**Locations.** The film was shot at several classic Lanzarote sites, including Timanfaya and La Geria, with particular use of Famara, a beach of almost four kilometers of sand at the foot of the Risco de Famara cliff, and the Jameos del Agua, a section of an underground volcanic tube reshaped by the Lanzarote artist César Manrique[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/). Almodóvar met Manrique on his first trip to the island in 1986 and has described himself as a passionate admirer of both the island and the artist[1](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/). The fatal car crash in the story takes place on Lanzarote, at a roundabout beneath a mobile sculpture by Manrique[13](https://elpais.com/diario/2009/03/08/eps/1236497213_850215.html).
## Release
The film was released in Spain on 18 March 2009[7](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=103708). It then rolled out across Europe through the autumn, opening in Belgium and France on 20 May 2009, the United Kingdom on 28 August 2009, Italy on 2 October 2009, and other territories through late November[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/). [Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-classics) released it in the United States in limited release on 20 November 2009[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces). A Spanish-language short shot on the film's kitchen set, *La concejala antropófaga*, circulated in the month before the premiere and served as promotion for the feature[15](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20090315/cosas-nunca-he-contado-almodovar-segunda-parte/248888.shtml).
## Reception
**Box office.** In Spain the film sold 696,722 admissions and grossed €4,173,100.04[7](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=103708). In the United States it earned about $5.0 million[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces).
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 82% Tomatometer from 156 reviews and a 75% audience score; the site's critics consensus calls it not Almodóvar's finest work but a noirish tale with his signature visual brilliance and first-class performances[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces). Reviews were divided along a consistent line. Time Out's Dave Calhoun gave it four of five stars, calling it Almodóvar's longest film and "a beautiful love letter to cinema," while noting it demands more thought than feeling[16](https://www.timeout.com/movies/broken-embraces-2). A second Time Out review was cooler, giving three stars and finding the film stilted despite its color and sensuality[17](https://www.timeout.com/movies/broken-embraces). The Los Angeles Times praised the Cruz-Almodóvar pairing and the film's layered irony[18](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-11-la-et-broken11-2009dec11-story.html), while Reverse Shot judged it an auteurist stumble, technically controlled but lacking an emotional center[19](https://reverseshot.org/reviews/entry/946/broken_embraces).
**Awards.** Alberto Iglesias won the European Film Award for Best European Composer in 2009 and the Goya for Best Music in 2010[3](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/) • [20](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/libro/699223.pdf). Penélope Cruz received the Fotogramas de Plata for Best Spanish Actress, and the film won the Satellite Award for Best Foreign-Language Film[20](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/libro/699223.pdf).
## References
1. [Broken embraces, Lanzarote Film Commission](https://film.turismolanzarote.com/en/archivo/broken-embraces/)
2. [Los Abrazos Rotos – Broken Embraces, BBFC classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/los-abrazos-rotos-broken-embraces-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mje2mjk)
3. [Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/90343/en/aboutstructure/)
4. [Broken Embraces, Sony Pictures Classics official site](https://www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/)
5. [Broken Embraces, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/17/4815-broken-embraces)
6. [Broken Embraces | Cast and Crew | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces/cast-and-crew)
7. [LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS, ICAA Film Database](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=103708)
8. [Broken Embraces, Morelia International Film Festival](https://www.moreliafilmfest.com/en/peliculas/los-abrazos-rotos)
9. [Broken Embraces, Movieguide review](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/broken-embraces.html)
10. [Broken Embraces, Little White Lies review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/broken-embraces)
11. [Los Abrazos Rotos, Thinking Faith](https://www.thinkingfaith.org/fr/articles/film_20090911_2.htm)
12. [Broken Embraces: movie review, The Christian Science Monitor](https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2009/1212/Broken-Embraces-movie-review)
13. [Historia de un abrazo, EL PAÍS Semanal](https://elpais.com/diario/2009/03/08/eps/1236497213_850215.html)
14. [Broken Embraces, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_embraces)
15. [Cosas que nunca he contado de Almodóvar (Segunda parte), RTVE](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20090315/cosas-nunca-he-contado-almodovar-segunda-parte/248888.shtml)
16. [Broken Embraces, Time Out (Dave Calhoun)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/broken-embraces-2)
17. [Broken Embraces, Time Out film review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/broken-embraces)
18. [Broken Embraces, Los Angeles Times review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-11-la-et-broken11-2009dec11-story.html)
19. [Broken Embraces, Reverse Shot review](https://reverseshot.org/reviews/entry/946/broken_embraces)
20. [Los abrazos rotos (film guide entry), Dialnet](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/libro/699223.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Film noir and neo-noir films › Released 1977 to 2022*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license