Pedro Almodóvar

  • La mala educación [Bad Education] (2004)

    La mala educación [Bad Education] (2004)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On TV, February 2021) While I wouldn’t call myself a fan of writer-director Pedro Almodóvar’s work, I rarely miss a chance to see movies of his — he can usually be relied upon to show us something new, interesting and provocative every time. There are few boring Almodovar films, and Bad Education is not of them. The story of a director reuniting with a past flame soon turns to cross-dressing, impersonation, murder and melodramatic confessions. There’s seldom a dull moment along the way, and Almodovar keeps us on our toes with a non-chronologic structure that may simply be excerpts of the film being made along the way (echoing his later Pain and Glory). The film relies on the performances of Gael García Bernal and Fele Martinez and both actors prove up to the challenge. The cinematography is very colourful and, as usual, the film mercifully does not stick to a formulaic narrative. Bad Education may feel a lot like other Almodóvar movies, but like all of them, it’s also a voyage of discovery in what he can do with a film.

  • Los amantes pasajeros [I’m So Excited!] (2013)

    Los amantes pasajeros [I’m So Excited!] (2013)

    ByChristian Sauvé Uncategorized

    (In French, On TV, December 2020) No one writes and directs films like Pedro Almodovar, and certainly no one can write an airplane thriller comedy like him. Largely taking place aboard a flight from Madrid to Mexico City that develops technical problems that may lead to a crash, I’m So Excited! takes a campy, comic, and very queer approach to its material, with lusty gay flight attendants trading barbs, sharing sexual exploit stories and drugging passengers to keep them quiet. The contrivances and complications inevitably reach Almodovarian proportions, enough to remind us that nothing here is meant to be serious or credible. While colourful and comic, I’m So Excited! is also overly broad and lightweight – and perhaps a bit dull when compared to its own best moments. The paradoxical result is that while bits and pieces of the film are great good fun, there’s too much of the not-so-much-fun material to keep a consistent tone. Another thing that really does not help is a female-on-male rape that’s played for laugh and singlehandedly slaps down the film’s good-natured charm by a full star or more. The last act also loses steam at a crucial moment where it should get crazier, and it doesn’t leave the film in the best shape in viewers’ minds as they take it all in. There’s clearly some potential here in having Almodovar go big, broad and colourful – but there are too many false notes (some of them honkers) in here to be completely acceptable.

  • Dolor y gloria [Pain and Glory] (2019)

    Dolor y gloria [Pain and Glory] (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, May 2020) I don’t necessarily love all of writer-director Pedro Almodovar’s movies, but I’m certainly interested in what he has to say, film after film, and Dolor y gloria is more autobiographical than most. Antonio Banderas plays an Almodovar alter ego, an aging film director lost in nostalgic recollection as he tries to put his life back together, while Penelope Cruz plays the somewhat thankless role of the director’s mother in flashbacks. I’m not quite up to knowing enough about Almodóvar’s life to fully appreciate the material (let alone identify with an acclaimed gay Spanish film director), but Banderas is quite good as the kind of grouchy guy who’s given up on giving a damn about his own life. The ending is quite moving in how it brings the framing device together with the rest of the story. I may never quite get Almodovar to its fullest extent, but as long as he keeps doing films like Dolor y gloria I will be there to take a look.

  • Mujeres al borde de un ataque de “nervios” [Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown] (1988)

    Mujeres al borde de un ataque de “nervios” [Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown] (1988)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On TV, May 2020) I will eventually see all of Pedro Almodóvar’s filmography, good and bad movies alike. I seldom completely agree with his films—there’s a crucial difference in age, context, language and all—but they’re interesting even when they don’t quite achieve what they’re going for. Almodóvar can combine a quirky premise with sure-footed execution and the result is worth a look even if the screaming is all in Spanish. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, considered one of his top-tier films, is a good illustration of this—it has an interesting hook (a dubbing actress sets out to understand why she was dumped) and then things get complicated with spiked gazpacho, Shiite terrorists, things thrown out of windows, gunpoint motorcycle hijacking, and a climax set at an airport (plus a priceless coda set at the protagonist’s apartment). It’s a farce but also an empathic examination of women under pressure, a cinephile’s homage to the form, a feminist statement and everything in between. It’s quite likable both at the film level and the character level—or the actor level, even: Rossy De Palma is mesmerizing here. The steady revelation of secrets helps keep this interesting, and the look at how dubbing professionals worked in the 1980s is evocative. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown may not be constantly hilarious, but it is consistently amusing. It’s a very strong piece of motivation for those seeking out the rest of Almodóvar’s filmography.

  • La piel que habito [The Skin I Live in] (2011)

    La piel que habito [The Skin I Live in] (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On TV, February 2018) Pedro Almodovar’s body of work (or at least the half-dozen films of his that I’ve seen) defy easy characterization: comedy, drama and thriller, all in the same films, all using refreshingly unfamiliar narrative structures … and seeing La piel que habito doesn’t help in clarifying things, as it blends mystery, horror and twisted romance in an occasionally-grotesque result. Knowing that it’s a twisted film, you can anticipate the worst once it becomes clear that the film is about a genius-level plastic surgeon, a captive woman and sombre disappearances in the back story. The film’s secrets are far wilder than most people would dare imagine. At that point, it becomes tricky to assess the film fairly: it’s certainly odd and well executed, but is it good? It’s certainly unpleasant, but was it worth watching? Almodovar fans will be best placed to answer these questions for themselves. In the meantime, there’s a good performance here from Antonio Banderas, some clever directing and a script that doesn’t spoon-feed some extreme material. It’s certainly not for weak stomachs—the blood alone is bad enough, but the themes are even worse.

  • Todo Sobre Mi Madre [All About my Mother] (1999)

    Todo Sobre Mi Madre [All About my Mother] (1999)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Netflix Streaming, July 2017) I’m not overly fond of Pedro Amodovar’s movies, but I have to recognize that he’s very good at what he does. He’s able to use melodramatic elements without necessarily feeling exploitative, and as Todo Sobre Mi Madre shows, he’s unusually skilled at presenting female characters. There’s also a welcome unpredictability to his work, especially compared to mainstream American releases—it’s never too clear where things are going, and characters are often killed mercilessly. It’s a different viewing experience and should be approached as such. Alas, a number of things limit my enthusiasm for the result. The pacing is often weird (at times too slow, at times too abrupt when something significant occurs), the meaningful references to other works are numerous and there’s no telling whether the film’s Spanish origins is, in itself, a distancing factor. As I’ve said, my appreciation for the kind of film that is Todo Sobre Mi Madre is limited, but even I have to admit that the result is well-crafted.

  • Carne Trémula [Live Flesh] (1997)

    Carne Trémula [Live Flesh] (1997)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In Spanish with French Subtitles, On TV, May 2017) I don’t like Pedro Almodovar’s work quite as much as most movie critics, but I will, at least, grant that his movies are quite unlike anyone else’s. They don’t stick to the formula, they’re willing to portray quirky characters undergoing unimaginable trauma, and they readily reach for uncomfortable situations that would feel extreme in other contexts. Trying to give a plot summary of Carne Trémula to someone used to the standard Hollywood three-act structure would earn wary stares and audible derision. Even while watching the film, it’s sometimes hard to avoid a few well-placed “Oh, come on!” But there are rewards to the whole mess, and it’s a kind of experience that’s strange and universal at once, with actors going far beyond what is expected of them in more ordinary cinema. Javier Bardem is very good here in an early role, which Penelope Cruz gets a small but merciless role. Less familiar actresses such as Francesca Neri and Angela Molina also get good parts to play in a small but intense cast of characters improbably linked together. The film’s Madrid backdrop is unusual but does not obscure common themes. I don’t think anyone will be comforted or conventionally entertained by Carne Trémula … but it’s certainly, like most of Almodovar’s movies, a memorable experience.

  • Hable con Ella [Talk to Her] (2002)

    Hable con Ella [Talk to Her] (2002)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, February 2017) If ever you wake up one morning and feel that cinema is too boring, to rote, too safe for you, then have a look at Pedro Almodóvar’s Hable con Ella. Strange and off-beat and surreal in ways that can’t even be described in a capsule review, it’s a film about death, life, obsession, accusations, two women in coma, the men who care for them and an outrageous dream sequence. Good performances by the lead actors complement Almodóvar’s unusual script and direction. It doesn’t deal with the usual topics, and certainly doesn’t deal with them in the usual way. Good, great, bad, boring—I’m still not too sure how best to describe Hable con Ella, but it’s certainly memorable.