This is a clever exposé of how men deal with their emotions. Marco and Benigno develop a close friendship almost despite themselves - and certainly not because they actually ought to. There is "love" that is unrequited, on-the-rebound and even violent all encompassed within this relatively concise story. Almodóvar hits the gold mine early with this and mines it wonderfully. There are some distinctive moral ambiguities in this film, and the Director makes no apology for that nor does he try to corral us into his (or any other) way of thinking - we have to make our own judgement as to how compassionate and/or forgiving we are at the end.
