Bad Education (2004 film)

Bad Education
Theatrical release poster
SpanishLa mala educación
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Directed byPedro Almodóvar
Written byPedro Almodóvar
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJosé Luis Alcaine
Edited byJosé Salcedo
Music byAlberto Iglesias
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Sogefilms
Release date
  • 19 March 2004 (2004-03-19)
Running time
105 minutes
CountrySpain
Languages
  • Spanish
  • Latin
Budget$5 million
Box office$40.4 million

Bad Education (Spanish: La mala educación, also meaning 'bad manners') is a 2004 Spanish neo-noir psychological melodrama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lluís Homar and Francisco Boira, the film focuses on two reunited childhood friends and lovers caught up in a stylized murder mystery. The metafictional film uses a deeply-nested narrative plot structure to explore themes of transsexuality, drug use, rape, and sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

The film was released on 19 March 2004 in Spain by Warner Sogefilms. Its subsequent festival run included screenings at Cannes, New York, Moscow, and Toronto. The film received critical acclaim, and was seen as a return to Almodovar's dark stage, placing it alongside films such as Matador (1986) and Law of Desire (1987).