Pedro Almodóvar goes back to his roots with this drama, inspired by his childhood experiences at a Catholic boarding school. An expansion of a plot thread from his 1987 black comedy The Law of Desire, it opens in 1980 in the offices of rising film-maker Fele Martínez. He is approached by an old school pal (Gael García Bernal), who has a story entitled The Visit. The friend is revealed to be the director's boyhood love and elements of their story populate The Visit, including the abuse Bernal suffered at the hands of a priest. Martínez agrees to film the story with wannabe actor Bernal in the lead, but soon discovers that his leading man is living a shocking lie. Though Almodóvar skilfully manipulates his labyrinthine storyline (aided by Bernal's versatile performance), he overcomplicates this tribute to Hollywood melodrama with too many heavy-handed references to films noirs, Vertigo and Spanish gay icon Sara Montiel. Those who adore his more thoughtful movies - All about My Mother, Talk to Her - may find this a rather superficial regression.

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.