In lieu of his usual IQGenius column, this week Cesar turns to talking about his favoritest Pedro:
I hereby decree that the day Pedro Almodóvar announces he is directing an American script, will be the day I walk into the office completely naked. Furthermore, if the script is not an Almodóvar original, I will also proceed to soil my seat. Luckily, the master filmmaker doesn’t even enjoy giving interviews in English, so I think I am safe in stating that I will never have to attend a staff meeting with nothing but a pencil and my dick.
On his latest film, Volver, all the reviews, which were deservedly positive, reached the same conclusion: Almodóvar is one talented fatherfucker. There is no doubt that he could turn the camera onto a free-floating plastic bag in a bricked corner and the guy would win the Palm D’Ore or Cesar, or the Oscar, which he has in fact, all three.
So what makes Almodóvar’s films so deliciously awesome? Well, for starters, the guy is completely unapologetic. And then comes everything else; humor, originality, music, warmth, wit, sardonic charm and well, Spanish women, trannies, sex and paella! I don’t think there’s anybody who could say that an Almodóvar film is not Almodóvar as is said about directors who have been making films for decades. Almodóvar at the core remains unabashedly Almodóvar. And Volver is the perfect and newest and perhaps the most vibrant example.
Where Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) leaves off, Volver picks up, creating a sort of double pair box-set of the director’s most popular work (or most accessible to American audiences rather). The aforementioned films revolve around his best subject; women, whereas the in-between Hable con ella (Talk to Her) and La Mala Educacion or (Bad Education) focus on the relationships between men.
Volver grabs you not for its kitschiness (only American critics have called it that: weird), as it seems to be much more mature and darker than even Talk to Her, but for its candor and emotion. Is it possible to make a film that pulls at your heartstrings so gently and makes you want to piss yourself in laughter and not call it schmaltzy or sentimental or just lame? Well, if you’ve cast Sandra Bullock then no, it’s not. But if your leading lady is Penelope Cruz then YES! And if the director is Almodóvar then Penelope Cruz will be so f*cking good in the movie, you can bet your gazpacho you will want to canonize her alive. I swear you will and I swear she’s that good.
Oh and by the way, if you want to see more Almodóvar, and you should, I recommend you check out the following in the order in which they were made:
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), 1988
Atame! (Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down), 1990
Carne tremula (Live Flesh), 1997
Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother), 1999
Hable con ella (Talk to Her), 2002
So now, when you see Volver, you will know just how good this man is and wildly imagine what gem he will make next. And for the foreign film-fearing, no worries, there are subtitles,boludos.
Svet: I couldn’t agree more. In fact, Tacones Lejanos was my first Almodovar experience. I think it’s his funniest actually. Unfortunately, I don’t even think it’s been released on DVD and therefore difficult as heck to get your hands on it. Hmm, must be a reason for that.
January 4, 2008 at 9:34 amAlmodovar is fantastic. Thanks for this. Mujeres, Hable con Ella and Todo Sobre mi Madre are probably on my all time fave movies list of forever. Beautiful music, wonderful acting, heartbreakingly raw emotion. He is obsessed with the male/female. I love him!!!
January 4, 2008 at 10:20 amnice review, cesar. volver is definitely next on my must-see list. and i do hope he never directs an american script for the sake of those poor people at the post.
svetlana, where (if anywhere) can a high heels dvd be found?
January 4, 2008 at 11:18 amhola?? Pepi Luci Bom people!
January 4, 2008 at 12:04 pmOR, if y’all actually cared this much about Almodovar then you would attend the Visions of Feminism’s Almodovar movie night series….
January 4, 2008 at 12:06 pmGringa, they’re ALL great. He’s Almodovar of course. But I especially picked a list that I think would turn those who don’t know Almodovar well or at all to his work.
January 4, 2008 at 12:27 pm*clearly* i have to chime in here since you (the fabulous el chico cesar) know how obsessed i am with this man! i agree with you 100% on all of the above - and i would take the assessment of volver a step further to say yes it did pick up where all about my mother left off, but it was also a perfect combination of all about my mother and women on the verge. it did have that manic sense (some americans might call it kitsch…but they would sound stupid) about it that women on the verge had, while also having the all about my mother depth.
god bless almodovar. and god bless cesar!
p.s. i could totally visualize you naked at your staff meeting….with a pencil…..dirty.
January 4, 2008 at 4:47 pmIt always bothers me when I read or hear “a film by Almodovar.” I don’t know why, but it -always- has.
January 5, 2008 at 9:11 amI think that I have seen them all. Some of them are truly fantastic, but he’s made a couple of missteps along the way (and no, I am not referring to introducing Madonna to Antonio Banderas).
January 7, 2008 at 11:32 am
I’ve said this before and I will say it again:
HIGH HEELS.
that is the Almodovar movie everyone needs to see.
the fact that it was not part of “viva pedro!” last year is a travesty. (all puns unintentionally intentional)
plus, we cannot talk about Almodovar without talking about music (see clip above and this one below): not a dry eye in the house
January 4, 2008 at 8:21 am