Talk to her

I don't really get how the movie has a connection with the fairy tale of sleeping beauty. I mean there is the girl, Alicia as well as Lydia who are both in a coma though it's more Alicia than Lydia. Alicia is the daughter of a psychiatrist and appears to be his only child. So she is the princess in a sense and he is the king. She is hit by a car not pricked by a needle that puts her in a coma for 4 years. In her state Benigno ensures that she remains the same as in looks the same so that when she wakes up there is no difference. I don't remember a lot of or make any connections with parts of the movie to the fairy tale.

Benigno and Alicia's relationship is one sided. The guy has feelings for her and she before her accident didn't really know him well and in her coma she doesn't even know he exists much less knows that he is taking care of her. It is one sided, there is no way she can reciprocate his feelings because she feels nothing at the moment and she doesn't acknowledge anything that he says or does. The word benign means kindness in demeanor or manner. He is a nice guy but his actions later on and his feelings are misunderstood and people see him as a danger.

The relationship between Marco and Lydia is different from that of Benigno and Alicia is because first Marco and Lydia are in an actual relationship and not one created by their mind like that of Benigno and Alicia. Second, Marco and Lydia were two people who jumped into a relationship with their pasts still unresolved. They both are still recovering from hurts. They are using each other in a way to try and fix what is wrong with them. They both didn't talk much about their past, their relationship wasn't that strong as seen in the way that Marco doesn't talk to Lydia like Benigno talks to Alicia, nor does he help take care of her like Benigno does Alicia. It is similar to Benigno and Alicia because one side is in love with the other that is not so committed and we find that out when El Nino reveals that Lydia and him were planning on getting back together.

I find it interesting the fact that Lydia even though she is a bull fighter is scared of a snake but everyone no matter how strong or brave has a weakness. Her having a phobia like that, I don't know what it means in terms of the movie but I can see that she is very trusting in being afraid in front of Marco. With the part of Marco always crying, it makes him a sensitive guy and show that he is more emotional than Lydia. She does not seem like one to break down and cry except at the wedding. It seems like the past still haunts him as he finds a lot of things are n close connection to or trigger memories of the past. '

Benigno and Marco's relationship, they clicked the moment they meet and Benigno was so trusting in relying on Marco and confiding in him. The two are a pair that both share the feeling of loneliness though Benigno is more child like and he hasn't gotten out much, being held to a one place by women that he cares for. Marco is a sensible guy compared to Benigno. Marco thinks things through while Benigno is more dramatic and doesn't think things through entirely as seen with the way he handled his obsession as I see it of Alicia. Marco is there for Benigno even though they haven't known each other that long. Benigno only talks to Marco and confides only in him.

Though Alicia got raped though it doesn't look as if she realized it, to Benigno it wasn't rape, he was making love to the woman he loved. Everyone else thought it rape because she could not and didn't consent to it. She didn't seem quite phased or changed by it. She moved on and worked to get stronger and she looked mostly to be affected by the accident. She was not told of what had happened to her. The only other violence I recall was that of Lydia and her bull fighting. Though many are against, don't believe she can do it she proves them wrong. But after she gets injured many are just wishing that she hadn't started in the beginning and that they knew this would happen. I can't really wrap my mind around why Almodovar did this. Maybe to show how women are viewed as frail creature in the world. Or trying to show a way in how love treats women. I don't know.

The theme of dance is ongoing we see a lot of scenes with the characters either going to see a dance company or talking about dance, especially when it comes to Alicia as it was her passion. Lydia in a way was a dancer in the way she moved with her cap and moved around the bull. The theme is a way shows how love is, a dance between two people. How everyone wants to have a dance partner, someone they can keep time with, who will lead and they will follow. And sometimes you have to dance alone or be able to dance alone before you dance with someone else.