Complex and devious beyond easy recounting, Bad Education is about the fallout from the ending of a "pure" love between boys, consecrated in an Almodóvaran temple--a movie theatre.
90
VarietyJonathan Holland
VarietyJonathan Holland
Superbly orchestrated, visually impressive.
80
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
In accounting for Almodóvar's identity as an artist and a man, Bad Education comes together like a bold and far-reaching summation of his career to date.
Spain's most important living filmmaker isn't at his very best in this complicated tale, but it raises still-timely questions well worth pondering.
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken Tucker
New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken Tucker
May be at once too gimmicky and too sincere. But it still exerts an uncanny power: Like the best of Almodóvar’s work, it throws you a first-love sucker punch that will stagger your heart, mind, and soul.
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Ultimately, Bad Education must be considered to be a minor effort from a major director.
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
There's something dull and evasive at the film's center--for one thing, contrary to its festival buzz, Bad Education tiptoes around the issue of priesthood pedophilia; lovelorn gazes are as desperate as it gets.
10
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Such garbage that taking a shower at the Bates Motel is a more appealing alternative.