Embraces

Snow falling, or maybe it's sleet. Pellet stove is going, and pizza dough I stirred together this morning is rising at the back of it. Drove to Rhinebeck this afternoon to see Almodovar's Broken Embraces. Trying to think about it but for whatever reason am feeling leaden. Still, glimmers poke through. I'm reminded of Jung's Red Book imagery that I viewed at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan a few weeks ago. Jung's images didn't connect with me at the time, or since really. Except that thinking about Broken Embraces - yes, the young man Diego (in a certain scene) is like the star child at the ocean; there's a worm, the billionaire; mandalas? Penelope Cruz herself? Floral-motifed draperies & costumes?

It's a bit of an overstuffed suitcase, outer edges flying out, but I greatly enjoyed the movie. I love Almodovar, he's a marvel. How in the world did he come up with all of that, I wondered as I exited Upstate Cinema into an icy mix that promised precarious driving back up north past Hudson.

I liked the relaxed, accepting, and improvisatory nature of the relationship between Diego and the avuncular film director. Thanks for being such a great sparring partner, the young man says to his friend, as together in ping-pong fashion they play with an idea for a vampire movie.