After seeing Almodovar’s two recent movies Talk to Her and All about my Mother, I left the theatre deeply satisfied. Both films were extraordinary pieces of cinema.  I felt different about Bad Education. It took me some time to figure out what made this a good film yet noticeable inferior to his two previous efforts. Autobiographical material can lend a piece of drama authenticity. But without some distance to the experience, it can also get in the way of communicating the significance of a piece of art. A more appropriate title for the film would have been “Lost Love.” Almodovar made the mistake of mixing three types of feelings, Pedophilia (Bad Education), Homosexuality, and Love as if they were the same thing. They are not. In doing so, Almodovar trivializes the crimes pedophilic adults (here catholic priests) commit against the children they are entrusted with. Despite this shortcoming Bad Education has much to offer. It is filled with layers upon layers of narrative and meaning, inviting you back so that you see it again to catch it all. The single most gratifying feature of the film is the spectacular acting of Gael García Bernal.