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Bad Education

Play trailer Poster for Bad Education NC-17 2004 1h 44m Drama Crime LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 147 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.
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Bad Education

Bad Education

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Critics Consensus

A layered, wonderfully-acted, and passionate drama.

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Critics Reviews

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Will Self London Evening Standard Jan 9, 2018
The problem with the film is its very staginess -- it never really seems to get out of drag. Between the impersonations of the priesthood, the impersonations of the transvestites and the impersonations of the actors themselves, there is little to choose. Go to Full Review Alan A. Stone Sight & Sound Jun 18, 2012
If Americans are allowed to see this film they may well conclude that the mature Almodvar is now ready to take his place alongside the great Buuel. Go to Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Nov 1, 2007
Like a Chinese box, it has layers under layers, fictions within fictions. A mystery and an intricate triangular love story, it's also a tale about storytelling itself, the uses of art and artifice to make the unbearable bearable. Go to Full Review Dave Giannini InSession Film Feb 20, 2024
La Mala Educacion is a tremendous film that ranks high not only in 2004 but in Almodovar’s filmography. Go to Full Review Carson Timar ClapperCast Jan 20, 2024
There is a lot of value here, I like the conversations on performance and repression, but there was just something here that was missing for me. Go to Full Review Darren Frei Out Magazine May 25, 2022
[Almodóvar manipulates] reality into a passionate, masterful orchestration that begs an encore viewing. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gi S @Gistevenn Apr 13, 2026 Should have been ranked nc17! See more thiago s @Thiagostone Mar 20, 2025 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, e as cenas até que são bacaninhas, mas não faz o filme ser bom. See more Lucas A @RT22439559 Aug 14, 2024 A narrative with layers and layers that are revealed as the film progresses, taking on a dark, dense way towards the end. Although the plot is labyrinthine, there is attention to many details that allow it to be read correctly. It plays a lot with the molding of the characters' personalities, and although one does not feel particularily emotionally trapped with them, intrigue and disturbance do come into play. See more Jerod S @jeroduptown Jul 12, 2024 With a thick plot and bizarre characters woven into the corruption of the church, bad education is a doozy. See more Rosana B @RosanaBotafogo Sep 2, 2022 Eu compreendo, não tem nada mais broxante do que o cara dormir enquanto você está chupando o p** dele, kkkk, pobre Gael García (Zahara)... Há tempos quero assistir esse filme, provavelmente por conta disso criei uma expectativa enorme, esperava mais, superestimado, em alguns momentos lento, o plot Twist foi o melhor, mas surtiu menos efeito que o esperado, Gael está lindo, o desenvolvimento arrastado, personagens pouco cativantes tornaram o menos envolventes... See more colin m @RT35044827 Aug 17, 2022 ("La Mala Educacion"/"Bad Education") (Spanish with subtitles) Not very enjoyable. See more Read all reviews
Bad Education

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Cast & Crew

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Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Fele Martínez

Enrique Goded

Gael García Bernal

Ángel

Daniel Giménez Cacho

Padre Manolo

Lluís Homar

Sr. Manuel Berenguer

Javier Cámara

Paca

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Bad Education

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Movie Info

Synopsis When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.
Director
Pedro Almodóvar
Producer
Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
Screenwriter
Pedro Almodóvar
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
El Deseo S.A., Televisión Española (TVE), Canal+ España
Rating
NC-17 (Explicit Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama, Crime, LGBTQ+
Original Language
European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 19, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.2M
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital
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