(Winner of the Best Actor Prize to Antonio Banderas and Best Soundtrack Award to Alberto Iglesias at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival)
The film revolves around a filmmaker at the twilight of his film career as he is coping with severe back pain as he learned that one of his older films has been restored where he reunites with an actor from that film while reflecting on his childhood. It’s a film that is a look into a man that is dealing with a lot as well as the fact that he is going through writer’s block, regrets, loss, and severe physical pain. Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay explores the life of filmmaker Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) as he receives word that one of his old films had been remastered and restored for a special screening where he bumps into an old friend who gives him the number and address of an actor from that film whom he hadn’t spoken to in more than 30 years. Upon his reunion with Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), the two discuss the past while Salvador tries heroin for the first time as it forces him to think about his time as a child (Asier Flores) where he and his mother Jacinta (Penelope Cruz) move into a cave house that his father bought.
It is where the young Salvador teaches a young laborer/draughtsman in Eduardo (Cesar Vicente) to read and write while he would later be sent to a school where he would learn a lot about art and cinema. Still, Salvador feels like he hasn’t done enough as it relates to his mother while he is also dealing with the severe physical pain that has him choking often at times where he uses heroin to cope with the pain. Another unlikely reunion in a former lover in Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia) would also force him to realize what is going on as he reflects on the last days with his mother (Julieta Serrano) before her passing while turning to his longtime assistant Mercedes (Nora Navas) for help as she believes something else isn’t right.
Almodovar’s direction does have its flair of style that he’s known for in his compositions yet it opens with Salvador in a pool as he’s underwater as it is this metaphorical image of a man that is believing he’s about to encounter his final days. Shot on location in Madrid as well as the province of Valencia with Paterna being a major location of the film as it plays into the life of the young Salvador. Almodovar’s compositions are largely straightforward yet he knows when to create something that is striking and evocative in a simple shot. Whether it’s in some of the wide shots of the Paterna exteriors or certain locations in Madrid to the more intimate shots at a small theater or Salvador’s apartment home with its medium shots and close-ups. Notably in the way he stages a one-man performance Alberto does where Federico watches as it play into this key moment for Salvador even though he doesn’t watch Alberto’s performance.
Almodovar’s direction would include these somber scenes that revolves around Salvador’s childhood that are presented with an intimacy in the cave home which is claustrophobic at times yet there is also a moment that also play into events that would affect Salvador’s sexuality as well his own sense of nostalgia as an adult. Almodovar would also infuse some voice-over narration from Salvador that includes an animation sequence by Juan Gatti that explores Salvador’s journey as a filmmaker and his fascination with science and geography that would inspire much of Salvador’s work. The film’s third act plays into Salvador’s faults as well as the realization that he’s been shielding himself from his past including his childhood along with his own desperation to rid the physical pain he’s enduring. Overall, Almodovar crafts an intoxicating and touching film about a filmmaker dealing with his past, regrets, and the twilight of his life and career.
Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine does brilliant work with the film’s lush and colorful cinematography with a naturalistic look for many of the film’s daytime scenes as well as the interior scenes at the cave-house along with some stylish lighting for some of the interior scenes set in Madrid. Editor Teresa Font does excellent work with the editing as it is stylized with its fast-cuts and montages for some parts while also being straightforward for much of the film in playing up the drama. Production designer Antxon Gomez, with set decorator Vicent Diaz and art director Maria Claria Notari, does amazing work with the look of the cave-house as well as Salvador’s apartment with so much attention to detail from his collection of paintings to his bedroom. Costume designer Paola Torres does fantastic work with the colorful clothes that the characters wear including a few stylish suits that Salvador wears to the ragged look of Alberto as well as the dresses the young Jacinta wears.
Makeup designer Ana Lozano does terrific work with the look of the characters from the bearded look of Salvador as well as the look of the older Jacinta. Sound designer Pelayo Gutierrez does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of some of the locations as well as how music is played on a boom box to maintain that sense of realism. The film’s music by Alberto Iglesias is incredible for its lush and rapturous orchestral score that play into some of the film’s melodrama as well as the air of nostalgia for the past as it is a major highlight of the film with a soundtrack that features folk and pop music of the time period that the characters live in.
The casting by Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from producer Augustin Almodovar as a priest, Luis Calero as the music teacher for young Salvador, the trio of Marisol Muriel, Paqui Horcajo, and the Spanish pop singer Rosalia as women washing clothes with the young Jacinta early in the film, Pedro Casablanc as Dr. Galindo who expresses concerns for Salvador’s health, Julian Lopez as a movie theater presenter wanting to interview Salvador and Alberto, Susi Sanchez as a family friend of Jacinta in Beata, Sara Sierra as a young village woman in Conchita, Raul Arevalo as Salvador’s father Venancio, and Cecilia Roth in a terrific one-scene performance as an old friend of Salvador in Zulema who gives him Alberto’s address.
Cesar Vicente is superb as a young laborer/painter in Eduardo whom the young Salvador teaches to read and writer as he is proven to be a gifted painter that helps the young Salvador and young Jacinta. Asier Flores is fantastic as the young Salvador as a young boy who is fascinated by cinema and books while is unsure about going to this prestigious school fearing he would never see his family again. Nora Navas is excellent as Salvador’s personal assistant Mercedes as a woman who is aware of Salvador’s ailing health and growing depression as she does what she can to help him but also aware of what is the cause of his physical pain. Penelope Cruz and Julieta Serrano are amazing in their respective performances as the younger and older versions of Salvador’s mother Jacinta with Cruz providing this sense of warmth expected in a maternal role but also frustrations over her new living situation and what her son wants. Serrano’s performance as the older version of Jacinta is more restrained as a woman just frustrated that she is on her way out as she also laments over Salvador’s choices in life and in his career while maintaining that maternal warmth.
Leonardo Sbaraglia is brilliant as an old lover of Salvador in Federico as a man from Salvador’s past who makes a brief visit to Madrid from Buenos Aires as he watches Alberto’s one-man show that prompts him to visit Salvador where they reminisce the past. Asier Etxeandia is incredible as Alberto Crespo as an actor who worked with Salvador in their greatest collaboration together as he hadn’t seen Alberto in more than 30 years where they re-establish their friendship and talk about past issues Etxeandia provides a charisma and charm to a man that is an admitted heroin addict but also a man of control. Finally, there’s Antonio Banderas in a tremendous performance as Salvador Mallo as a once-revered filmmaker who is at the twilight of his career as he deals with immense physical and emotional pain as he thinks about his past as well as the idea that he might not have much time left. Banderas also provides this physicality in the way he struggles in getting out of a car or to express the physical pain he’s in as it is this performance full of restraint and dark humor as he showcases a man struggling with himself as well as trying to find some hope in the end as it is a performance for the ages.
Dolor y gloria is a magnificent film from Pedro Almodovar featuring a phenomenal leading performance from Antonio Banderas. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, ravishing visuals, somber themes of nostalgia and uncertainty, and a luscious music score by Alberto Iglesias. The film isn’t just this fascinating story of an artist dealing with the possible end of his life and career but also reflecting on his roots and the events that shaped his life. In the end, Dolor y gloria is an outstanding film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) – (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar: Pt. 1 Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2021
Based on a collection of short stories entitled Runaway by Alice Munro, Julieta is the story of a woman who just found the whereabouts of her long-lost daughter as she reflects on her past and the events that would shape her life. Written for the screen and directed by Pedro Almodovar, the film is a drama where a woman is eager to reconnect with her estranged daughter as well as deal with the past as the titular character is played by Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte in their respective roles as the older and younger version of the character. Also starring Inma Cuesta, Dario Grandinetti, Daniel Grao, Michelle Jenner, and Rossy de Palma. Julieta is a ravishing yet chilling film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film follows the life of a woman who has been disconnected from her daughter for 13 years as an encounter with a friend of her daughter gives her news about her daughter’s whereabouts. This revelation would prompt Julieta to look back at her life from the moment she would meet the man who would be the father of their child to the tragedy that would shape everything. Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay would base itself on three different stories Alice Munro as it is largely told in a reflective manner by the older Julieta as she writes her story dating back to the 1980s where she was just a literature substitute teacher where she met Xoan (Daniel Grao) on a train to Madrid where Julieta encountered something horrible that would bring her and Xoan together. It’s among these series of intense moments that would affect Julieta as she would spend much of the first act with Xoan at his seaside home where he’s a fisherman while they would have a daughter in Antia with the help of a friend of his late wife in Ava (Inma Cuesta) and a longtime family maid in Marian (Rossy de Palma).
The second act isn’t just about the dysfunction in Julieta’s family life but also the events that would cause this slow rift between her and Antia (Priscilla Delgado) which would be set in Madrid for the film’s second half as Antia becomes close with her friend Beatriz (Sara Jimenez) whom she met at a summer camp. When Antia (Blanca Pares) gets older, things get more troubling as it would lead to Antia disconnecting herself from Julieta causing all sorts of things for the film’s third act. Especially when Julieta would find a new love in Lorenzo (Dario Grandinetti) as she tries to not think about Antia until her encounter with Beatriz (Michelle Jenner) that changes everything. All of which would play into not just the sense of guilt that looms throughout Julieta but also grief as she would lose a lot in her life where she becomes unsure if she wants to re-establish contact with Antia.
Almodovar’s direction is definitely exquisite as it features images and compositions that are gorgeous as well as capture so much into the frame. Shot partially on Madrid with other locations in Rias Altas, La Sierra in Huelva, Pantcosa, Fanlo, and the Pyrenees Mountains, Almodovar creates a film that is quite rich in not just the different locations in Spain but also a film that showcases the different lifestyles that Julieta would endure for much of her life. While the older Julieta is seen mainly in Madrid living in somewhat-posh apartments and later returning to the more quaint apartment she had years earlier when she was living with Antia. Almodovar’s usage of the wide shots play into some of the locations as well as a few scenes at some of the homes that Julieta would go including her family country home during a visit to her parents. Yet, Almodovar would favor more intimate shots with the usage of close-ups and medium shots as he would go into great detail for the former in some shots.
There are moments in the film that do contain some element of surrealism such as the scenes on the train where Julieta and Xoan watch a stag chasing the train while Almodovar would employ some tracking shots and intricate compositions in where to place the actors in a shot. There is something masterful in the compositions that Almodovar creates as it captures so much detail into a shot as well as shooting different scenes on a particular location to play into this idea of the past and the guilt that Julieta carries as she reflects on the mistakes she made in her life as well as tragedy. Even as Almodovar is willing to do something simple as well as keep things in the open as it’s all about what is next step in Julieta’s life. Overall, Almodovar crafts an intoxicating yet haunting film about a woman looking back at the tragedies that would affect her life and relationship with her daughter.
Cinematographer Jean-Claude Larrieu does amazing work with the film’s very colorful and lush cinematography that feature a lot of natural images for the daytime exterior scenes with some low-key lighting for some of the interiors and scenes set at night. Editor Jose Salcedo does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts in some parts of the film as well as some straightforward cutting to play into the drama. Production designer Antxon Gomez, with set decorator Federico Garcia Cambero and art director Carlos Bodelon, does brilliant work with the look of the different homes that Julieta had lived in throughout her life to the posh look of the apartment she shares with Lorenzo to the quaint apartment she lived in with Antia as well as the home near the sea. Costume designer Sonia Grande does fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes that Julieta wore during the 80s and 90s to a more reserved look once she is in her 40s and 50s as it help play into the evolution of her character.
Makeup designer Ana Lopez-Puigcerver does nice work with the makeup from way Julieta looked like early on her young life with the different hairstyles and such as well as the look of Marian. The special effects work of Kings Abbots and Eduardo Diaz do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it is mostly set-dressing for a few shots revolving around the sea. The sound work of Sergio Burmann is superb for its natural approach to the sound as well as some of the sound effects that play into some of the key moments of the film. The film’s music by Alberto Iglesias is incredible as it features a mixture of piano-based music and heavy orchestral music that help broaden the drama as well as some of the film’s darker moments as it is a major highlight of the film.
The casting by Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Mariam Bachir as the maid for Julieta’s parents, Priscilla Delgado as the young Antia, Sara Jimenez as the young Beatriz, Pilar Castro as Beatriz’s mother Claudia, Ramon Agirre as a landlord of the apartment that Julieta used to live with Antia, Nathalie Poza as the head of a spiritual retreat compound that Antia went to before she disappeared, Joaquin Notario as Julieta’s father, Susi Sanchez as Julieta’s Alzheimer-stricken mother Sara, and Blanca Pares as the 18-year old Antia who would go on a spiritual retreat and never return without explaining to anyone including her own mother. Rossy de Palma is fantastic as Marian as Xoan’s longtime family maid who watches over everything as well as keep some very dark secrets relating to Xoan as well as some things she would tell Antia. Michelle Jenner is superb as Antia’s longtime childhood friend Beatriz who would have an encounter with Julieta as she would eventually tell her some things about Antia and why they became estranged.
Dario Grandinetti is excellent as Julieta’s current lover in Lorenzo whom Julieta would meet in life through mutual means as he wonders why Julieta has suddenly changed their plans to move to Portugal. Inma Cuesta is brilliant as Ava as a friend of Xoan who was close to Xoan’s late wife as she would befriend Julieta as well as provide some information about what Marian told Antia later in the film. Daniel Grao is amazing as Xoan as a fisherman who would meet Julieta at a train as they fall in love and have a family as he’s this quiet man that loves to fish as he also keeps some secrets from Julieta. Finally, there’s Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suarez in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as the younger and older version of the titular character. Ugarte brings an anguish and melodrama to her approach as the young Julieta as a woman trying to find herself and be a working mother as well as cope with the tragedies in and around her life. Suarez’s performance as the older Julieta is more reserved as someone who has been through a lot yet there is a sequence that showcases the sense of hurt and anger as someone who felt betrayed and heartbroken.
Julieta is a spectacular film from Pedro Almodovar that features sensational performances from Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte in the titular role. Along with its gorgeous visuals, top-notch technical work, a sumptuous score by Alberto Iglesias, a great supporting cast, and an engaging take on grief and guilt. It’s a film that explores loss in a lot of ways as well as a woman dealing with the events in her life and wondering what she could’ve done to change them. In the end, Julieta is a tremendous film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1
- Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2017
Of the filmmakers to emerge from the post-Franco Fascist-era of Spain, Pedro Almodovar is definitely the most filmmaker, aside from Luis Bunuel, to emerge as he would redefine cinema not just for gays and women but also from a broader spectrum. Coming from this cultural renaissance that emerge from Francisco Franco’s death and then becoming one of the towering figures of international cinema. Almodovar brought in a sense of style and charisma that managed to be daring and dangerous but also managed to appeal to a wide audience that hadn’t encountered gay-and-lesbian cinema nor lavish stories of female empowerment. Even as the openly-gay Almodovar would teeter the line between the absurd craziness of melodrama to the more somber and touching tales of humanity which makes one of the revered figures in cinema.
Born in Calzada de Calatrava in Spain on September 25, 1949, Pedro Almodovar was the son of a rural family as well as one of four children living in a rural town surrounded largely by women. At the age of eight, Pedro was sent to a religious boarding school in Caceres as the experience had a profound effect on him as his family later joined him where his father ran a gas station and his mother ran a bodega. At that town, Almodovar discovered cinema as he saw many films in the local theater from the likes of people like Federico Fellini, George Cukor, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, and Luis Bunuel. After moving to Madrid in 1967 against the wishes of his parents, Almodovar in the hopes to become a filmmaker despite the closing of the National film school forcing Almodovar to take on many odd jobs and teach himself how to make films.
It was around the early 1970s where Almodovar discovered the films of Germany’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the American filmmaker John Waters as both were openly gay and were creating films that were very radical. It was also around that time that Almodovar met a young actress in Carmen Maura as the two were part of this underground movement that was emerging in the final years of Franco’s rule. Following Franco’s death in 1975, the Madrilenian Movement began to emerge as it brought a cultural renaissance back to Spain as it helped inspire a lot of artistry where Almodovar made a lot of short films during that period as he would hone his craft as a filmmaker. Along with Maura, Almodovar would get the help from his younger brother Augustin who would become Almodovar’s right-hand man as he would produce all of Almodovar’s projects. Another figure who would be a constant in Almodovar’s entire work would be editor Jose Salcedo as Almodovar would gain financing to make his first feature film.
The full version of the Auteurs piece can be read at Cinema Axis in 2 parts in part 1 and part 2.
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Tacones lejanos (High Heels) is the story about the fragile relationship between a famous torch singer and her news reporter daughter where the two find themselves involved in a murder. Inspired by American melodramas, the film isn’t just an exploration about this estranged relationship between two women but also what these two women do to hurt each other. Starring Marisa Paredes, Victoria Abril, and Miguel Bose. Tacones lejanos is a compelling though uneven film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film explores this tense and fragile relationship between a torch singer and her news reporter daughter as the former returns to Spain to do a series of concerts while the latter has married a former lover of her mother’s. All of which would then lead to a murder mystery where both women are suspects as it would lead to many complications and revelations over the strained relationship between the two women. Much of which involves envy and resentment between the two women as the singer Becky del Paramo (Marisa Paredes) and the news reporter Rebeca (Victoria Abril) come to terms with their disdain for one another as well as the root of this schism.
Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay starts off very well in the way it plays the troubled relationship between Becky and Rebeca as it would be furthered by the latter’s marriage to Manuel (Feodor Atkine) whom Becky had been with many years ago. Yet, the marriage is already troubled which would lead to a brief affair between Manuel and Becky but one that is unfulfilling as Manuel has another lover. Then the film shifts gears into a mystery where Rebeca becomes very despondent over what happens as she is questioned by a judge (Miguel Bose) who wants to know what happened. Even as he would make some revelations about the relationship between mother and daughter as it would lead some very dramatic moments in the second act. Just as the first two acts would create something that is intriguing, the film would then fall apart in its third act not just in some of the twists that are unveiled but in how messy and uneven the story would become.
Almodovar’s direction is quite stylish in not just in the way he composes a scene but also capture elements of the drama where one of its obvious influences in the film is Ingmar Bergman’s whose 1978 film Autumn Sonata is referenced. There’s some unique close-ups and framing devices that Almodovar would use to play into the tension between Becky and Rebeca as well as the way the camera would capture these moments in medium shots and wide shots with very few close-ups of the two together as they would only be used in single shots. The film would also have some very entrancing moments such as Becky, Rebeca, and Manuel watching a tribute performance to Becky by a drag singer as well as Becky’s own singing performances. Yet, there’s also some offbeat moments such as a choreographed dancing in a prison as well as some moments in the third act which definitely provides some shifting tones that eventually becomes confusing and incomprehensive despite its very powerful ending. Overall, Almodovar crafts a very intriguing though very messy film about a troubled relationship between a mother and her daughter.
Cinematographer Alfred Mayo does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography to capture every sense of detail in many of the film‘s interior settings including the scenes at the club as well as some of the exteriors in the way Madrid looks. Editor Jose Salcedo does fantastic work with the editing with its stylish approach to dissolves as well as jump-cuts to play into some of the film‘s humor and melodrama. Production designer Pierre-Louis Thevenet, with set decorator Julian Mateos and art director Carlos Garcia Cambero, does brilliant work with the set pieces from the different homes the two women live as well as the look of the club and court house that the characters would go to.
Costume designer Jose Maria de Cossio does excellent work with the costumes from the dresses that Becky would wear as well as the Karl Lagerfeld-designed Chanel suits and dresses that Rebeca would wear. The sound work of Jean-Paul Mugel is terrific for some of the sound work that occurs including one key moment of the film that would drive the story towards its second act. The film’s music by Ryuichi Sakamoto is pretty good as it features some low-key orchestral pieces while most of the music consists of jazz pieces by Miles Davis as well as classic torch songs and some score pieces by George Fenton in some of the dramatic moments.
The film’s superb cast includes some notable small appearances from Rocio Munoz as a young Rebeca, Nacho Martinez as Rebeca’s father, Pedro Diez del Corral as Rebeca’s step-father in a flashback sequence, Miriam Diaz Aroca as the sign-language reporter, Anna Lizaran as Becky’s assistant Margarita, Cristina Marcos as a social worker that Rebeca meets, and Javier Bardem in a very small role as a TV director. Feodor Atkine is terrific as Rebeca’s husband Manuel who has a disdain for drag queens and is cruel to Rebeca as he seeks to renew his affair with Becky. Miguel Bose is fantastic as the young judge who looks over into this case as he tries to question the two women over their troubled relationship.
Marisa Paredes is great as Becky del Parmo as this torch singer who returns to Spain to give a series of homecoming concerts as she tries to deal with a murder mystery as well as her tense relationship with her daughter. Finally, there’s Victoria Abril in a phenomenal performance as Rebeca as this young woman who tried to reconcile with her mother as she is dealing with being in her mother’s shadow as well as being in a loveless marriage as it’s a performance filled with anguish as well as excitement as her scenes with Paredes are just astonishing to watch.
Tacones lejanos is a stellar yet messy film from Pedro Almodovar. While it features a great cast and beautiful images, it’s a film that has Almodovar trying to infuse many genres where it starts off great but has a very messy third act that hinders the film a bit. In the end, Tacones lejanos is a really good yet flawed film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, !Atame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) is the story of a troubled man released from a psychiatric hospital who kidnaps an actress in the hopes that he would fall in love with her. The film is an exploration into the world of obsession as it plays into the world of Stockholm Syndrome with some dark humor and revelations about these events. Starring Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril, Francisco Rabal, Loles Leon, Julietta Serrano, Maria Barranco, Rossy de Palma, Lola Cardona, Francisco Rabal, and Francisca Caballero. !Atame! is a strange but thrilling film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film explores the strange relationship between a troubled man who kidnaps a B-movie actress in the hopes that he would fall in love with her. It’s a film that explores the concept of Stockholm Syndrome where the victim would fall for its kidnapper as Pedro Almodovar infuses the story with some dark humor as well as revelations about humanity. Especially as this young man in Ricky (Antonio Banderas) has just been released from a psychiatrist hospital where he hopes to meet the actress Marina (Victoria Abril) as the two had met a year before at a nightclub where a one-night stand happen. Unfortunately, Marina doesn’t remember as she is a recovering drug addict who used to do porn films as she had become the obsession of her aging director Maximo Espejo (Francisco Rabal) who is helming his final film.
The film’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as Almodovar focuses more on motivations and what is happening in this kidnapping scenario where there’s some obvious schematics that will happen. Yet, Almodovar makes it so much more as Ricky is a man driven by loneliness and abandon as he thinks Marina can give him some hope. Marina is a woman still recovering from her own addiction as a toothache becomes part of her problems as well as the advances of her director who is confined in a wheelchair because of a stroke. Once Ricky gets into Marina’s apartment and takes her as his hostage, he takes his time to win her over though it becomes a struggle at first. Adding to the complications is the fact that Marina has been asked by a neighbor to water his plants as her sister Lola (Loles Leon) would end up doing as she becomes frustrated working as an assistant director to Espejo.
Almodovar’s direction is truly mesmerizing in the way he doesn’t just create this unique mix of suspense, black comedy, and romance but also a film where it plays into the possibility into whether this woman will fall for her kidnapper. Some of the humor is very offbeat where it can be very quirky at times but also there’s some darker moments where it adds to this mix of discomfort yet it is also oddly funny. Almodovar’s direction is truly wondrous in the way he creates compositions from his approach to close-ups and using wide lenses to capture the beauty of a film set or an apartment. There’s also an element of artistry in the way Almodovar would put his actors into a frame or how he would create sexual images that play into the desires of Ricky and Marina. The sense of shock value is also prevalent in how far Ricky will go where he would also encounter seedy people to get what he wants. There is also an element of desire since Marina is this object of desire for men as she is trying to figure out what she wants and what Ricky will offer her. Overall, Almodovar creates a very sensational yet provocative film about a strange relationship between a woman and her kidnapper.
Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcine does brilliant work with the film‘s ravishing cinematography from not just the nighttime exteriors and interiors of the locations and sets but also in the way some of the rooms are lit to capture the gorgeous colors of the apartments and sets. Editor Jose Salcedo does fantastic work with the editing with its stylistic approach to jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts as it plays to the air of suspense and drama that occurs in the film. Production designer Esther Garcia, with set decorator Pepon Sigler and art director Ferran Sanchez, does amazing work with the set design from the gorgeous apartment of Marina‘s neighbor to the some of the sets in the film that she is making.
Costume designer Jose Maria de Cossio does excellent work with costumes where it adds to the film‘s colorful look from the dresses some of the women wear to the shirts and jeans that Ricky wears. The sound work of Ricardo Steinberg is terrific for the way it adds to the suspense and drama in how sparse it is at times while going for more ominous effects in some of the exterior scenes. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is just phenomenal where Morricone does take some cues from Bernard Herrmann in terms of its eerie orchestral arrangements for the suspense while adding his own operatic touches to some of the music to play into the romance and drama as it’s one of his finest works. The film’s soundtrack features a mixture of boleros and pop songs that are played in the film to showcase the two worlds coming together for Ricky.
The film’s cast includes some noteworthy small performances from Francisca Caballero as Marina’s mother, Lola Cardona as the psychiatric hospital director who had a close relationship with Ricky, Maria Barranco as a doctor friend of Marina whom Ricky would meet to get some prescriptions, and Rossy de Palma in a fantastic role as a drug dealer who rides a Vespa who doesn’t like to be fucked with. Julietta Serrano is excellent in a small yet crucial role as Espejo’s wife who would watch her husband seeking to regain his sex drive while being the one person who is willing to listen to Lola as she is aware of her husband’s obsessions. Francisco Rabal is amazing as Maximo Espejo as this director trying to make his final film as he desires Marina while also flirting with Lola despite the fact that he’s in a wheelchair. Loles Leon is great as Marina’s sister Lola as she tries to deal with Espejo’s obsession and antics while wondering where Marina is as it’s a role that adds a lot of humor to the film.
Victoria Abril is brilliant as Marina as this B-movie actress who becomes a kidnapping victim as she deals with her own situation while is also someone who is troubled by her own recovery from drugs and sexual satisfaction. Antonio Banderas is remarkable as Ricky as this troubled 23-year old who had just been released from a psychiatric hospital as he hopes to get Marina to fall in love with. Banderas and Abril have this very unique chemistry in the way they deal with each other as Banderas brings some humor to the role with Abril being a bit more aggressive as they are major highlights of the film.
!Atame! is a spectacular and exhilarating film from Pedro Almodovar. Armed with a great cast led by Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril along with beautiful cinematography and art direction as well as Ennio Morricone’s sublime score. The film is definitely one of Almodovar’s finest films as well as his most provocative in the way it explores kidnapping and the concept of Stockholm Syndrome. In the end, !Atame! is a tremendously wild and vivacious film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, La ley del deseo (Law of Desire) is the story of a complicated love triangle between a homosexual filmmaker, his transsexual sister, and an obsessive stalker. The film is an exploration into not just homosexual love but also transsexuality as the film showcases Almodovar creating something that mixes melodrama with the edginess of his early work. Starring Antonio Banderas, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Bibi Andersen, and Miguel Molina. La ley del deseo is a ravishing yet intensely-gripping film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film explores a very complicated affair between a revered homosexual filmmaker and a stalker whose sick obsession would lead into trouble as it would also involve the filmmaker’s transsexual sister. It’s a film that plays not into just obsession but also a man who has put himself into this troubling relationship as he’s in love with another man who has gone on a holiday. Meanwhile, his sister Tina (Carmen Maura), who was once his brother, is trying to make it as an actress while taking care of their niece Ada (Manuela Velasco) whose mother (Bibi Andersen) is away in Japan. For Pablo Quintero (Eusebio Poncela), his relationship with Antonio (Antonio Banderas) starts to become overwhelming where Pablo would write letters to Antonio as a woman so that Antonio’s mother (Helga Line) would believe that her son is straight. Unfortunately, things become complicated as writer/director Pedro Almodovar creates something that is this wild mix of melodrama with suspense as well as dark humor.
The film’s screenplay not only showcases an affair that becomes chaotic but also a woman’s life as she is looking for something good in her life while caring for her niece as they’re both seeking some form of spiritual comfort. Tina is a woman who has been locking up a secret that her brother doesn’t want to know as she tries to live a life without a man with the exception of Pablo. Pablo’s relationship with Antonio is really a fling as he’s trying to work on a script for a new film yet remains devoted to his lover Juan (Miguel Molina). Once Antonio finds out about Juan, troubles brew as Almodovar would present this in a very melodramatic yet eerie style that is dark but also would push Pablo into facing his own faults. Especially as it’s third act forces him to deal with his consequences over his relationship with Antonio and how it nearly destroyed his own relationship with Tina.
Almodovar’s direction is filled with style not just in terms of the compositions he creates but also in the mood. The way he opens the film where a young man is masturbating is a showcase of what is to come from Almodovar as there this air of shock value. Much of it involves some racy sex scenes between two men which was very out there during the mid-1980s in the age of AIDS yet Almodovar doesn’t go too far but rather showcase a sense of passion in the relationship between Pablo and Antonio. The character of Tina is another aspect of the film that is quite daring since she is this transsexual character who thinks of herself as a woman but if she’s going to be in a fight. She’ll fight like a man and don’t care if she gets hit as there is that complexity to the character.
Much of Almodovar’s compositions are very entrancing from the slow pans on the dolly camera that he creates as well some unique camera angles and wide shots to present this lush world that is Madrid in its discos, cinemas, theaters, and clothing boutiques to present something that is very lively. Yet, there is that element of darkness and danger that occurs in the third act as its climax is very chilling but also very ambiguous over what is happening and such. Overall, Almodovar creates a very rich yet haunting film about a filmmaker coming to terms with himself and the people he surrounds himself with.
Cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez does brilliant work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography from the way some of the nighttime exteriors are shot as well as some of the interior lighting as well as the vibrancy of Madrid and other locations in Spain. Editor Jose Salcedo does amazing work in creating some unique cutting style from split-screens as well as rhythmic cuts and dissolves to play into the drama and suspense. Art director Javier Fernandez and set decorator Ramon Moya do fantastic work with the look of Pablo’s apartment as well as the religious shrine that Tina and Ada pray to along with the theatrical sets that Tina would perform in.
Costume designer Jose Maria de Cossio does excellent work with the costumes from the shirt that Pablo and Antonio would wear to the clothes that Tina would wear including a Betty Boop t-shirt she and Ada would wear as pajamas. The sound work of Jim Willis is superb for some of the atmosphere of the locations as well as the use of voiceovers that often occur whenever Pablo is writing. The film’s music by Bernardo Bonezzi is terrific for its mixture of Spanish-based balladry with some orchestral music as the soundtrack includes some classical pieces and Spanish ballads that play into the film’s drama.
The film’s wonderful cast includes some notable small roles from Rossy de Palma as a TV interviewer, Victoria Abril as a girlfriend of Juan, Nacho Martinez as a sympathetic doctor that helps Tina and Pablo, Fernando Guillen and Fernando Guillen Cuervo as a father-son police team, Helga Line as Antonio’s mother, and Bibiana Fernandez (in her Bibi Andersen alias) as Ada’s often-absent mother. Manuela Velasco is very good as Tina and Pablo’s niece Ada who always seek some spiritual answers while preferring the company of Tina and Pablo than her mother. Miguel Molina is terrific as Pablo’s lover Juan who goes on a holiday to find himself while dealing with the state of their relationship as he would eventually cause a schism between Pablo and Antonio.
Carmen Maura is phenomenal as Tina as this transsexual actress who deals with her identity as she wants to become an actress while dealing with the work that her brother is writing as it’s a role that is quite ballsy but also one that exudes femininity as it’s one of Maura’s great performances. Eusebio Poncela is brilliant as Tina’s brother Pablo Quintero as this filmmaker who writes about the struggles of women and homosexuality as he tries to juggle his own relationships as well as how his work sometimes cause tension between himself and Tina. Finally, there’s Antonio Banderas in a remarkable performance as Antonio as this very troubled and obsessive stalker who is in love with Pablo yet couldn’t deal with sharing Pablo with anyone else as it’s a very dangerous and intense performance from Banderas as well as one of highlights in his collaboration with Almodovar.
La ley del deseo is an incredible film from Pedro Almodovar that is highlighted by the top-tier performances of Antonio Banderas, Carmen Maura, and Eusebio Poncela. The film isn’t just one of Almodovar’s quintessential films but also one of his darkest and most dangerous as it showcases what he can in explore transsexuality and homosexuality. In the end, La ley del deseo is a lurid yet sensational film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Pedro Almodovar and written by Almodovar and Jesus Ferrero, Matador is the story of a matador student who confesses to a murder that he didn’t commit as forces beyond his control involving other people start to unfold about the real mysteries of the murder. The film is a dark exploration into the world of faith, sex, and death as it plays into the complicated world of a retired matador, his student, his young lover, and the student’s defense attorney in this strange yet complex story. Starring Antonio Banderas, Assumpta Serna, Carmen Maura, Eva Cobo, Eusebio Poncela, Julieta Serrano, Chus Lampreave, Veronica Forque, and Nacho Martinez. Matador is a mesmerizing and offbeat film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film is this very unconventional mystery that is driven by a young yet repressed matador student whose attempt to rape a model has him confessing to a series of mysterious murders. Yet, it’s a film that plays into a world of sexuality and death as the film opens with these very chilling scenes of death where a man is masturbating to images of murders while a woman would kill her lover with a hairpin. It sets the tone for what is coming as Angel (Antonio Banderas) desires to be a matador but he is repressed sexually as well as in other things due to his more traditional upbringing by his mother (Julietta Serrano). That repression and his attempted rape on Eva (Eva Cobo) would send Angel into an uncertainty while his confession gets the attention of his matador teacher/Eva’s boyfriend Diego Montez (Nacho Martinez) and a defense attorney in Maria Cardenal (Assumpta Serna) who would take Angel’s case to see if she can help him.
The film’s screenplay has a very odd structure where the first act is about Angel trying to prove his manhood to Diego who questioned him if he was gay. In his attempt to prove his manhood by raping Eva, it would only show how repressed and lost he is through his own upbringing as his mother’s prompting to confess to his priest would only cause Angel to become lost in his guilt. The second act involves not just Diego and Maria as they try to figure out the case but also their own encounter with each other as there is this very unlikely attraction. Maria is a fan of Diego’s time as a bullfighter while it is clear that there is something about them that is off causing the detective (Eusebio Poncela) to wonder if Angel knows something as he asks the criminal psychologist Julia (Carmen Maura) to help. The film’s third act would involve Eva, who is deeply in love with Angel, where she not only learns about the true nature of the murder as Angel in his own troubled state would also make some revelations into the truth.
Pedro Almodovar’s direction definitely has a degree of style in not just his approach to framing but also in the mood he conveys as he definitely brings in elements of surrealism and melodrama into the film. Especially in the latter as there’s a scene where Diego and Maria find themselves in a movie theater watching the ending of King Vidor’s Duel in the Sun as it showcased the desire they would have for each other later on. Much of the direction has Almodovar use a lot of smooth dolly pans to create a mood with its wide and medium shots to play into the worlds that Diego and Maria live in as well as the more oppressed environment of Angel. The themes of faith are quite evident in the film as it relates to Angel and his mother as she is this old-school traditionalist who would pressure Angel to always answer to God as he starts to lose himself mentally. Angel’s mother is a very sharp contrast to Eva’s more liberal mother (Chus Lampreave) who is an artist as she is more in tune with is happening while Angel’s mother convinced that her son has sinned.
There is also a dangerous approach to sexuality in the way the film begins where a man masturbates to images of murder as well as a woman killing a man while having sex. It’s among the aspects in Almodovar’s direction that plays to elements of extreme where its climax takes that sexual extreme to another level. Once the sex is mixed in with this gruesome idea of violence as it relates to the art of bullfighting, it plays into not just the unraveling of the mystery but also into a world that doesn’t really make much sense as far as what Eva and Angel are concerned since they come from two very disparate backgrounds. Overall, Almodovar creates a very dark yet evocative film about people’s desires and their own sense of emotional and sexual repression.
Cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez does brilliant work with the film‘s very vibrant and stylish cinematography to capture the lush look of red as well as some of the colorful exteriors in some of the film‘s locations in Madrid along with some of its lighting in its interior scenes. Editor Jose Salcedo does amazing work in creating some stylish cuts from the use of dissolves for a surreal sequence involving Angel as well as jump-cuts to play into its suspense and drama. Production designer Fernando Sanchez, with set decorators Roman Arango, Pin Morales, and Josep Rosell, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Diego lives and teaches as well as the more stylish world that Eva and her mother lives in.
Costume designer Jose Maria de Cossio does incredible work with the costumes where he uses red to help with the look of the film a dress that Eva wears as well as the clothes that Maria wears in the film. The sound work of Bernard Ortion is superb for some of the sound effects that is created as well as the sparseness in some of the moments such as Diego displaying his moves despite his career-ending injury. The film’s music by Bernardo Bonezzi is phenomenal for its chilling score that mixes orchestral music with some flamenco as well as some eerie electronic pieces to play into its suspense and drama.
The film’s great cast includes some cameo appearances from Pedro Almodovar as a fashion designer, his brother Agustin as a cop, Bibiana Fernandez as a flower vendor, Veronica Forque as a fashion reporter, Carmen Maura as a police psychologist who falls for Angel, and Eusebio Poncela in a terrific performance as the detective who leads the investigation as he often is baffled by the behavior of women. Julietta Serrano and Chus Lampreave are wonderful in their respective roles as the mothers of Angel and Eva as they bring in polarizing ideas about motherhood and morals where the former is very strict while the latter is more outgoing. Eva Cobo is excellent as the model Eva who has a very lovesick obsession towards Diego despite their age difference as she also endures being raped by Angel despite his naivete.
Antonio Banderas is fantastic as Angel as this young matador student who starts to unravel mentally due to his oppressive upbringing and desire to prove that he’s a man as it’s a performance told with such restraint and sensitivity. Nacho Martinez is superb as the very masculine yet repressed Diego as this once-great matador who teaches his students the art of killing a bull as it plays to a sense of melancholia that would later be shadowed by something much darker. Finally, there’s Assumpta Serna in an exhilarating performance as Angel’s lawyer Maria Cardenal as this woman who is quite offbeat as she wants to prove that Angel is innocent as she also has this obsession about Diego that showcases a darker side of her that would attract Diego.
Matador is a ravishing yet visceral film from Pedro Almodovar. Armed with a great cast led by Assumpta Serna, Nacho Martinez, and Antonio Banderas as well as a fantastic score. The film is definitely one of Almodovar’s early triumphs as well as one of his most dangerous and provocative films that explores the world of oppression and extreme sexuality. In the end, Matador is a remarkable film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Que he hacho yo para merecer esto? (What Have I Done to Deserve This?) is the story of a middle-class housewife who has a family filled with eccentric people as she tries to maintain a sense of normalcy in her life. The film is a mixture of melodrama and humor as it plays into a woman trying to make sense of the world that she lives in. Starring Carmen Maura, Angel de Andres Lopez, Veronica Forque, and Gonzalo Suarez. Que he hacho you para merecer esto? is an engrossing yet sensational film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film explores the life of a housewife who lives in a cramped apartment with her husband, her mother-in-law, and two teenage sons as she works cleaning houses for a living as money is tight and things are becoming chaotic. While it’s a film that has some humor, it’s mostly a melodrama in the vein of a lot of different styles as Pedro Almodovar creates a story that has a woman dealing with the world that she’s in. For the character of Gloria (Carmen Maura), she fantasizes about having a life outside of her eccentric family that consists of her unhappy mother-in-law (Chus Lampreave), a homosexual son in Miguel (Miguel Angel Herraz), her older son in drug dealer Toni (Juan Martinez), and her husband Antonio (Angel de Andres Lopez) who used to work as a chauffer for a revered German singer as he’s also a talented forger. The activities of Antonio, her sons, and her mother-in-law have Gloria feel unappreciated and overworked as the only friend she has is her neighbor in the prostitute Cristal (Veronica Forque).
The film’s screenplay features a lot of subplots involving Toni’s deals and his relationship with his grandmother as he helps her wanting to go back to her home village as he will join her. Other subplots involve Miguel’s sexual exploits as he often gets the attraction of older men, Antonio’s schemes with a writer in Lucas Villalba (Gonzalo Suarez) involving the memoirs of Adolf Hitler as he’s also a client of Cristal, and a neighbor (Kiti Manver) who abuses her telekinetic daughter Vanessa (Sonia Hohmann). All of which plays into Gloria’s desire for something better as well as questioning herself into why is she living this very chaotic life where her husband always spend their money on bullshit. Though the script doesn’t have much of a plot, it is more of a character study into Gloria’s life as she is eager for something normal as it would take some drastic steps for her to find that normalcy.
Almodovar’s direction is pretty simple in terms of the compositions he creates as it mostly focuses on medium shots and close-ups with a few wide shots of the city of Madrid and its locations. Much of it is set in this apartment complex where Gloria, her family, and her neighbors live in as it’s quite cramped in some parts as it would represent the sense of repression in Gloria’s life. Some of it would be humorous as well as filled with some eccentricities where Gloria would watch Cristal having sex with a client while they’re having a conversation. Some of the compositions that Almodovar creates does play into melodrama in the way he places Gloria into a frame as it plays to not just her growing frustrations with the world but with herself. Much of it has Almodovar paying homage to American melodramas while infusing it with some visual motifs inspired by the French New Wave and the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Particularly as its climax would involve Gloria not only getting some resolution about her life but also the sense of hope that her family will be able to appreciate her and help her. Overall, Almodovar crafts a very intelligent and compelling film about the chaotic life of a housewife in Madrid.
Cinematographer Angel L. Fernandez does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the lighting schemes in Cristal‘s apartment as well as the more low-key look for the interiors in Gloria‘s apartment. Editor Jose Salcedo does nice work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward while it has some flairs of style with its jump-cuts for some of its melodramatic scenes. Set decorators Roman Arango and Pin Morales do amazing work with the look of Gloria‘s apartment as it features posters of the band Kiss in her son‘s room as well as the more lavish look in Cristal‘s apartment.
Costume designer Cecilia Roth does terrific work with the costumes from the wild clothes of Cristal to the more plain clothes that Gloria wears. Sound recording engineer Enrique Molinero does superb work with the sound to create some effects and such to play into some of the drama. The film’s music by Bernardo Bonezzi is fantastic for its mixture of orchestral themes to play into the melodrama with some electronic-based music for its humor and suspense.
The film’s cast includes some cameo appearances from Pedro Almodovar as an actor singing on a film set and Cecilia Roth as a woman in a coffee commercial. Other notable small roles include Kiti Manver as Gloria and Cristal’s cruel neighbor Juani, Sonia Hohmann as Juani’s telekinetic daughter Vanessa, Amparo Soler Leal as Lucas’ wife Patricia, and Katia Lortiz as a once-famous German singer whom Antonio used to be a chauffer for. Miguel Angel Herraz and Juan Martinez are terrific in their respective roles as Gloria’s teenage sons in the openly-gay Miguel and the more adventurous drug dealer Toni. Gonzalo Suarez is excellent as the writer Lucas Villalba who conspires with Antonio to forge some handwritten pieces from Adolf Hitler for a memoir while Chus Lampreave is hilarious as Gloria’s mother-in-law who always talks about her village and hiding things like her mineral water and Magdalena cakes.
Angel de Andres Lopez is amazing as Gloria’s very selfish husband Antonio who always spend whatever he and Gloria earns while often singing German opera as he seems indifferent to what his sons do or how hard his wife work. Veronica Forque is fantastic as Cristal as an aspiring actress who works as a prostitute as she often helps out Gloria while is very close with Toni as it’s a performance that has more substance than the usual hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold caricature. Finally, there’s Carmen Maura in tremendous performance as Gloria as a woman who wants to escape from her chaotic family life while questioning her worth as it’s a very chilling yet mesmerizing performance from the actress as it’s definitely one of her best.
Que he hacho you para merecer esto? is an excellent film from Pedro Almodovar that features a phenomenal performance from Carmen Maura. Not only is it one of Almodovar’s most enduring homages to cinema but also a unique portrait of a woman trying to make sense of her life. In the end, Que he hacho you para merecer esto? is a marvelous film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - Dark Habits - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All about My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, Entre tinieblas (Dark Habits) is the story about a cabaret singer who finds refuge in a convent filled with eccentric nuns. The film is an exploration into the world of the Catholic church as well as growing sense of moral bankruptcy that is emerging in Spain as it’s all presented in a satirical form. Starring Cristina Sanchez Pascual, Julietta Serrano, Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave, Cecilia Roth, and Marisa Paredes. Entre tinieblas is a ravishing film from Pedro Almodovar.
The film is this very offbeat story about a cabaret singer who seeks refuge at a convent following the drug overdose death of her boyfriend. At this convent that is going through financial trouble, it is run by nuns who each carry bad habits as they try to help others redeem themselves while struggling with their own habits. Leading the pack is a Mother Superior (Julietta Serrano) who is a lesbian that likes to do cocaine and heroin as she lives in the convent with a chaplain (Manuel Zaro) who likes to sew elaborate robes with a nun named Sister Snake (Lina Canalejas). Other nuns include the neat-freak Sister Damned (Carmen Maura) who has a pet tiger, a former murderess who likes to cook and do LSD occasionally named Sister Manure (Marisa Paredes), and an aging nun named Sister Sewer Rat (Chus Lampreave) who secretly writes smutty novels. It’s all part of a world that is removed from society as these women try to maintain some semblance of faith in a changing world.
Pedro Almodovar’s screenplay doesn’t just explore a sense of moral bankruptcy in Spain but also a world where the Catholic Church seems to find ways to maintain some relevancy in a new world but there are those that prevent some nuns from trying to be a part of the new world. Mother Superior and her convent knows what is going on yet they’re dealing with their old General Mother Superior dying as well as the possible clothing of their own convent. By taking in the singer Yolanda (Christina Sanchez Pascual), it gives the nuns a chance to help someone yet Yolanda and the Mother Superior share an affinity for cocaine and heroin. One aspect of the script that serves as motivation for the nuns to try and save their convent involves dealing with their late benefactor’s wife (Mary Carrillo) who has no interest in saving the convent until Mother Superior would gain information about the woman’s late daughter that she would use as blackmail.
Almodovar’s direction has this air of style that recalls the works of such filmmakers as Robert Bresson, Luis Bunuel, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Federico Fellini, and Douglas Sirk in not just his approach to melodrama but also in the way he is willing to provoke ideas. Notably in the way he has the nuns behave in a casual manner that is very offbeat as well as create something that is akin to the melodramas of Sirk and Fassbinder. The direction also has Almodovar create some intoxicating imagery that is rich with dazzling colors and lighting schemes to play into this strange world the nuns live in that seems to reflect some of the craziness that goes on in Madrid. With its approach to tracking and dolly shots along with some high and low camera angles, there is a fluidity to what Almodovar wants to do as well as create something that is low-key yet sensationalistic in a climatic party that the nuns hold for Mother Superior that would have face her new superior. It would be a moment where the fate of Yolanda and the nuns would come into play as it would be told in the form of classic melodrama. Overall, Almodovar crafts an evocative and powerful film about a convent of nuns trying to find themselves in a new world.
Cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez does phenomenal work with the film‘s gorgeous and colorful cinematography from the exotic vibrancy of many of the film‘s daytime interior scenes to some of the scenes set at night to play into the richness of the colors with additional help from some unique lighting schemes. Editor Jose Salcedo does amazing work with the film‘s editing with its use of jump-cuts, montages, and dissolves to play into a sense of style that has an element of surrealism in some parts of the film such as Sister Manure‘s acid trips. Production designers Roman Arango and Pin Morales, with set decorator Antonio Lopez, do fantastic work with set pieces from the look of the room that Yolanda stays in to the main hall of the convent as well as the decorations for the climatic party scene.
Costume designers Francis Montesinos and Teresa Nieto do brilliant work with the costumes from the look of the nun uniforms to the lavish robes that the Chaplain and Sister Snake create that Yolanda would wear. The sound work of Armin Fausten and Martin Muller is superb for the intimacy that occurs in the convent as well as the sense of vibrancy in the party scenes. The music by Cam Espana is wonderful for its mixture of somber orchestral pieces to the use of sentimental pop songs that Yolanda and the Mother Superior love.
The film’s cast includes some noteworthy small performances from Marisa Tejada as a drug dealing-friend of Mother Superior, Eva Siva as Sister Sewer Rat’s rich sister, Will More as Yolanda’s boyfriend at the beginning of the film, and Cecilia Roth as a former lover of Mother Superior who briefly returns due to trouble. Other notable small roles include Berta Riaza as the new General Mother Superior who appears late in the film, Mary Carrillo as the benefactor’s wife who isn’t interested in funding the convent, Manuel Zaro as the convent’s Chaplain who loves to sew and watch old films, and Lina Canalejas as Sister Snake who is a master at sewing as she tries to keep the peace within the convent.
Chus Lampreave is amazing as the very comical Sister Sewer Rat as this aging nun who tries to keep her secret writing life a secret while doing odd things. Carmen Maura is excellent as Sister Damned as this very eccentric neat-freak who likes to feed and play bongos to her pet tiger whom she refers to as her son. Cristina Sanchez Pascual is terrific as the very troubled cabaret singer Yolanda who deals with the death of her boyfriend as well as her addiction as she tries to find redemption. Marisa Paredes is brilliant as the very troubled Sister Manure as this very destructive woman who likes to walk barefoot on broken glass, cook, and drop acid as she is someone trying to atone for her own sins. Finally, there’s Julietta Serrano in a marvelous performance as the Mother Superior as this drug-taking lesbian who falls in love with Yolanda as she tries to help her as well as do whatever it takes to save her convent as it’s a pretty wild performance from the actress.
Entre tinieblas is a remarkable film from Pedro Almodovar that features brilliant performances from his group of regular actresses in Julietta Serrano, Marisa Parades, Chus Lampreave, and Carmen Maura. The film is definitely stylish in terms of its colorful imagery and set pieces as well as being provocative in the way it takes a few shots at religion and society. In the end, Entre tinieblas is a gorgeous and sensational film from Pedro Almodovar.
Pedro Almodovar Films: Pepi, Luci, Bom - Labyrinth of Passion - What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Matador - Law of Desire - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - High Heels - Kika - The Flower of My Secret - Live Flesh - All About My Mother - Talk to Her - Bad Education - Volver - Broken Embraces - The Skin I Live In - I'm So Excited! - Julieta - Pain & Glory - (The Human Voice (2020 short film)) - (Parallel Mothers)
The Auteurs #37: Pedro Almodovar Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
