Retrospective:Pedro Almodovar

Pepi,Luci & Bom(1980)-7/10->Bizarre characters,hilarious,yet shocking dialogues,a lot of self-ironic behaviour make this worth your while,even though Almodovar goes nowhere with his characters.

What Have I Done To Deserve This?(1984)-9/10->Funnier than his first movie,better acted and a lot more centered on its incredibly bizarre and special characters,What Have I Done To Deserve This? is a weird story told in a distinguishable way Almodovar has set in only two movies.

Matador(1986)-7/10->With a great performance from Banderas,plenty of smart,sexual metaphores ,Matador is a depraved,strange,yet great psychological drama,but,Almodovar tries a bit too hard to shock the viewer visually,but not in the storyline and the shocks get quite tedious after a while.

Law Of Desire(1987)-6/10->It's bold and shocking,well acted and the dialogues are really well written,but Law Of Desire loses his story more and more,whilst Almodovar gets almost infatuated with his characters.

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown(1988)-10/10->Probably his most artistic film so far(1988),WOTVOANB is fantastically acted,humourous and emotional,stylish,short and energetic.Also,it has genuine wacky characters.

Tie Me Up,Tie Me Down!(1990)-8/10->Even though its plot has some holes,Banderas and Abril's performances are fantastic,it's a fascinating film about love and there is some sick humor,even though this is mostly an emotionally gripping film.

High Heels(1991)-8/10->Abril and Paredes make a good mother-daughter pair in this funny,somewhat melodramatic film,in which Almodovar makes his characters take some rather unpredictable forms.

Live Flesh(1997)-8.5/10->A very ironic and sincere film on daily life and chance,backed up by Bardem's performance,a great score that fits in with the general mood of the movie and great cinematography.Also,the movie is either very sincere about its views on life,or very creative(in terms of humor).Not both at the same time,sadly.

All About My Mother(1999)-10/10->A constant homage to classic films,fantastically acted and it's one of the few films that are such insightful,feminist studies.And Roth gives one of the best performances I have ever seen.Majestic.

Hable Con Ella(2002)-8.5/10->The narrative Almodovar has built has some missteps and the themes in the movie seem a bit recycled by him,but the way he tells the story in a very mysterious and bold way,it's compassionate.Slow,yet rewarding nonetheless.

La Mala Education(2004)-9/10->The acting is impecable and the way the real story weaves together with the scripted story is great.Also,it works not only as a drama,but also as a film-noir.

Broken Embraces(2009)-8/10->Not one of Almodovar's recent best,but Broken Embraces is another great film-noir,Cruz and Homar give terrific performances.

The Skin I Live In(2011)-9/10->One of Almodovar's sickest,but one of his smartest films,filled with twists,first class performances from Anaya and Banderas and beautiful cinematography.Also,he gives the film only a pinch Almodovar-esque humor.And that's enough.

Labyrinth Of Passion(1982)-6/10->To some it might be funny,to some it might be just shocking and even though Almodovar deviates from one subject to another,the acting and the fun are worth it.

Dark Habits(1983)-6/10->Dark Habits is hilarious,dramatic and bizarre,but it is really disjointed,even though it's really fun.

Kika(1993)-5/10->It's as zany and hilarious as Almodovar can get,but Almodovar gives up coherent storytelling for some great,funny scenes.

The Flower Of My Secret(1995)-7/10->It's compassionate,beautifully filmed and Paredes gives out her truly best,but towards the second half of the film,it seems as if Almodovar lost interest of his main character.

Volver(2006)-8.5/10->Cruz gives a terrific performance in this touching,feminist,melodramatic comedy about refinding your roots.A tribute to women all around.