‘Broken Embraces’: First stills from the film

New photos from Pedro Almodóvar‘s “Broken Embraces” starring Penélope Cruz have popped up online and they give us some further clues and insights to the semi-secretive noir.

What we do learn from these photos is that ‘Embraces’ reunites much of the fantastic cast of “Volver” including Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo and Chus Lampreave.

Once again the synopsis: Broken Embraces is a four-way tale of amour-fou, shot in the style of ’50s American film noir at its most hard-boiled, and will mix references to works like Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place and Vincente Minnelli’s The Bad and the Beautiful, with signature Almodovar themes such as fate, the mystery of creation, guilt, unscrupulous power, the eternal search of fathers for sons, and sons for fathers.”

Cruz said the role was one of her most difficult and challenging to date and it appears she had to go to some tough emotional places, but in Almodovar — her loving and tough longtime collaborator — she trusts. “I don’t want to work with someone who tells me it’s perfect all the time,” she said. “If there’s a take he likes, he’s going to tell me and if there’s a take he doesn’t like he’s going to tell me about that too. And in the end that instills confidence. I prefer that way of working.”

“It’s been difficult for her psychologically,” Almodovar has said. “But fortunately for her there’s been no lasting effects.”

Here’s the pics, enjoy!