Earlier this month, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s satirical screwball comedy I’m So Excited! propelled its way into UK cinemas. Leap back over eleven years and five Almodóvar films, and you get the exquisite drama Talk to Her (‘Hable con ella’), which was rescreened last Thursday to a small audience at the Arts Picturehouse – many of whom, like myself, were probably discovering it for the first time.

I was surprised by how difficult it was to briefly recount this film to a friend afterwards, whilst – short of writing a 400-word review – doing it any justice at all. At its most superficial level, the plot might be mistaken for those of lesser, soppily sentimental movies: the story revolves around two comatose women Alicia (Leonor Watling) and Lydia (Rosario Flores), formerly a dancer and a matador, and the men, nurse Benigno (Javier Cámara) and journalist Marco (Darío Grandinetti) who love them. Not too surprisingly, the lives of the two men intertwine and they become friends. But what makes Talk to Her stand out is the subtle elegance and simplicity with which it delves into issues such as loneliness and communication between men and women. This is enhanced by Almodóvar's masterful interweaving of different mediums into the film, such as the evocative Pina Bausch dance pieces ‘Café Müller’ and ‘Masurca Fogo’, and the heavily symbolic silent film ‘The Shrinking Lover’. And in spite of its frequent use of flashbacks the film retains an admirable coherence, aided in part by nuanced acting which helps the atmosphere shift believably from the lightly comic to the sublime and sharply poignant.

Watching Talk to Her was a rather cathartic experience. The film has the power to wring tears from a person at the most unexpected moments, and for the most intangible reasons: if we cry during the film, it is not because of scenes such as Caetano Veloso’s beautifully moving rendition of ‘Currucucú Paloma’ or the state of being in a coma itself.

Talk to Her has claimed its fair share of accolades, including the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the 2003 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign-Language Film – and deservedly so; it certainly ranks among the best films I have seen.

Chuckle at the frivolity of Almadóvar’s latest film if you will, but be sure to revisit this masterpiece while you are at it – sad and perhaps improbable as this sounds, it might well be the 112 most meaningful minutes of your week.