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Passes the Bechdel test

Broken Embraces

2010. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, written by Pedro Almodóvar.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    16 women characters. 6 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 2 scenes out of 6.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

Poster for Broken Embraces

The film

Passion, obsession, wealth, jealousy, family, guilt, and creativity. In Madrid, Harry Caine is a blind screenwriter, assisted by Judit and her son Diego. The past comes rushing in when Harry learns of the death of Ernesto Martel, a wealthy businessman, and Ernesto's son pays Harry a visit. In a series of flashbacks to the 1990s, we see Harry, who was then Mateo Blanco, a director; he falls in love with Ernesto's mistress, Lena, and casts her in a film, which Ernesto finances. Ernesto is jealous and obsessive, sending his son to film the making of the movie, to follow Lena and Mateo, and to give him the daily footage. Judit doesn't like Lena. It's a collision course.

Released
15 Jan 2010
Genres
Drama, Romance, Thriller
Rated
R
IMDb
7.2 / 10
Metascore
76 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award. 9 wins & 46 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Harry 140 lines, man
  2. Lena 135 lines, woman
  3. Judit 131 lines, woman
  4. Diego 114 lines, man
  5. Mateo 114 lines, man
  6. Pina 37 lines, woman
  7. Ernesto S 33 lines, man
  8. Chon 32 lines, woman
  9. Ernesto 24 lines, man
  10. Ernesto Junior 16 lines, man
Full cast, 41 people
  • Penélope Cruz as Lena
  • Lluís Homar as Mateo Blanco / Harry Caine
  • Blanca Portillo as Judit García
  • José Luis Gómez as Ernesto Martel
  • Rubén Ochandiano as Ray X
  • Tamar Novas as Diego
  • Ángela Molina as Lena's Mother
  • Chus Lampreave as Concierge
  • Kiti Mánver as Madame Mylene
  • Lola Dueñas as Lip Reader
  • Mariola Fuentes as Edurne
  • Carmen Machi as Chon
  • Kira Miró as Model
  • Rossy de Palma as Julieta
  • Alejo Sauras as Álex
  • Carlos Sampedro
  • Ramón Pons as Lena's Father
  • Coté Soler
  • Marta Aledo as Maribel
  • Carlos Leal
  • Chema Ruiz as Dr. Blasco
  • Dani Martín as Ray X's Boyfriend
  • Jöns Pappila
  • Javi Coll as Luis
  • Juan Bautista Cucarella
  • Lyng Dyrup
  • Enrique Aparicio
  • Enrique Vargas
  • Viviana Espinoza
  • Fernando Lueches as Montador de Avid
  • Fernando Iglesias
  • Javier Giner as Camello
  • Carlos García Cambero
  • Bina Daigeler
  • Agustín Almodóvar as Gardener
  • Esther García
  • Karola Sánchez as Production Assistant
  • Yuyi Beringola as Cinearte Receptionist (uncredited)
  • José Coromina as Man Walking the Dog and Greeting Lena's Mother (uncredited)
  • Sergio Díaz Bermejo as Assistant Director (uncredited)
  • Jaime Fernández-Cid Buscató as Vecino Enrollado Bar (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 6

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 12837
2 to 2157295
3 to 3811
4 to 42410
5 to 585124
6 to 67148

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
LENA: Call me any time, no matter what it is! LENA: Madame Mylene? Hello, it's Severine. MADAME MYLENE: Severine! It's been so long! I'm so happy to hear from you. LENA: I need money.
LENA: Now! My weekend's free. I am busy during the week. MADAME MYLENE: I'll see what I can do. May I call tonight if I find something? LENA: Yes. I'll wait for your call. LENA: Yes?
LENA: Three weeks. JUDIT: Can we stop for those three weeks? With pay for the team, of course.
LENA: I ask you only for a bit more patience... And a kiss! CHON: Listen, if that's how you'll greet me, I'll leave. PINA: No, c'mon! Come inside!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 42 are women's.

373 lines from women, 525 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

16 women and 17 men in the cast. 6 women and 17 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 96 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 43% of the words (4,517), men 57% (6,021). Women have 42% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Pedro Almodóvar (man)
Written by
Pedro Almodóvar (man)
Produced by
Esther García (woman), Agustín Almodóvar (man)
Shot by
Rodrigo Prieto (man)
Edited by
José Salcedo (man)
Music by
Alberto Iglesias (man)
Production design by
Antxón Gómez (man), Víctor Molero (man)
Costumes by
Sonia Grande (woman)
Cast by
Luis San Narciso (man)

The crew, department by department

  • Art

    8 women, 7 men, 10 not listed

  • Other crew

    1 women, 5 men, 13 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    5 women, 2 men, 10 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 8 men, 9 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 4 men, 10 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 3 men, 8 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 1 men, 7 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 3 men, 5 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 50 on average. Men: 42 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Penélope Cruz 34, Lola Dueñas 37, Blanca Portillo 45, Ángela Molina 53, Kiti Mánver 55, Chus Lampreave 78

Men

Tamar Novas 22, Rubén Ochandiano 28, Lluís Homar 51, José Luis Gómez 68

Exhibit H: the money

It made 1.7 times what it cost.

Budget
$18 million
Box office
$31 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 6 scenes and 953 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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