Cruz is ravishing, and narritive is dazzling in new film

Pedro Almodóvar works through a motif over the course of multiple films, as if the ideas he likes best can't be contained by a single movie. These variations on a theme provide analytical grist for film scholars with an auteur bent. For more casual viewers the results are more like cinematic déjà vu. Haven't I seen something like this before?

His previous obsessions have included the transsexual with a heart of gold and the fine line between passion and violence. Now, with 'Broken Embraces,' he extends a riff that he started with 2004's underrated 'Bad Education' - the filmmaker as agent of both redemption and doom, emerging from the past to settle and facilitate unfinished business.

Actually this one has a pair of filmmakers. One is Harry Caine (as in rock you like a, in the words of the Scorpions), a blind man who, in vintage Almodóvar fashion, beds a gorgeous stranger mere moments into the film. Harry tells us in voice-over that he has changed his identity after a cataclysmic event rocked his world years ago. The other filmmaker is a creepy little guy who calls himself Ray X. Ray is the mysterious figure from Harry's past, a former collaborator of sorts and a catalyst for the reminiscences and intrigues that unravel throughout the film. 'Broken Embraces' also shares with 'Bad Education' a taste for noir; Harry's last name, which suggests a force of nature, can also be read as homage to the pulp writer James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice).

Harry, played by Lluís Homar, is the kind of weathered stoic who wears his losses in his face and shoulders. We learn through layers of flashback and discussion that he was once involved with an aspiring actress (Penélope Cruz, ravishing) who was also the mistress of Ernesto (José Luis Gómez), a possessive financier. Cruz is magnificent with both men. She plays muse to Harry, who casts her in his first comedy and dolls her up to look like Audrey Hepburn. With Ernesto she is a kept, miserable object. One scene finds them making love, their bodies completely covered by sheets to suggest death. When they're finished she heads to the bathroom and vomits.

The only thing more intricately conceived than 'Broken Embraces'' twisting narrative is its immaculate design scheme (another Almodóvar trademark), the perfect lines and dazzling primary colors that leave your eyes savoring every square inch of screen. It's ironic that the film opened the same week as 'It's Complicated, 'which also boasts the kinds of interiors that have been dubbed architecture porn. Space is a character in Almodóvar's world, an indicator of mood, emotion and crisis.

As for the déjà vu: As long as Almodóvar keeps investing such thought and energy in his work, he can play with whatever themes he desires. His films are actually made to be seen more than once. The first time you check off the various plot turns and character relationships. The second time you revel in the craft, and the emotion seeps in. That's what great artists do. They keep you coming back for more, even if, on some level, it's more of the same.

'Broken Embraces'

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Director: Pedro Almodovar

Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez, Ruben Ochandiano

Rated: R for sexual content, language and some drug material

Run Time: 2 hrs. 8 min.