“It is a romantic film, with various interlaced love stories; all of them are very intense, but there is also one story underlying the rest: my love affair with film.” In this way Pedro Almodovar described the plot of Broken Embraces, marking his return to cinema screens after the success enjoyed by Volver [‘To Return ’], in particular for his current muse, Penelope Cruz.

At a press conference, conducted by Almodovar himself as though he were directing on set, the filmmaker from La Mancha expressed his hopes and desires for Broken Embraces. “I hope that, firstly, it amuses you; secondly, that you understand it, and thirdly, if this were a perfect world, that it moves you; that you can perceive the emotion we felt while making it.”

Broken Embraces, to be released next Wednesday, is a melodramatic movie with a mix of many different genres, melodrama obviously, but also film noir and it has some comic touches too. It tells the story of Lena, who has had a hard life and wants to be an actress, and falls into the hands of a magnate. With her enthusiasm for acting, she gets the lead in the new film from director Mateo Blanco, with whom she falls madly in love. Lluis Homar, Jose Luis Gomez, Blanca Portillo, Tamar Novas and Ruben Ochandiano play the characters, plus Penelope Cruz in the leading role, and accompanied Pedro and Agustin Almodovar at the presentation.

However, there is another quality which the film exudes in each shot, and this is cinematographic reference to Almodovar’s other films, as a leitmotif. While the story focuses on a love affair between a film director and the leading actress, this couldn’t happen in a better situation than the filming of the comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown; behind the scenes, various people working on the film are, simultaneously, living in torment. As Almodovar explained, in Broken Embraces “some of my other films are there, because they form a part of my emotional, financial and artistic background. They are part of my biography. And they are always present when I start writing.” This referential nature has not only been observed in films like Rossellini’s Journey to Italy, but serves as a device for introducing hilarious cameos by Rossy de Palma, Kiti Manver, and above all, Chus Lampreave.

For her part, Penelope Cruz, just back from the United States, says that her Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona will now be staying in Madrid as “It’s got all scratched already because I’ve been carrying it around with me.” She referred to her recent work with Almodovar as “a marvellous experience, but the shoot was very intense.” Cruz also emphasized how important Almodovar is for her both professionally and personally: “He is one of my best friends. If I was told I could only film with one single director in the future, I’d choose him.”