November 25, 2009 Leigh Singer

Almodóvar: Noughties but Nice

 

I’ve just added three reviews of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s work this decade: Bad Education (2004), Volver (2007) and this year’s Broken Embraces. For me, Almodóvar is one of the very best directors working today and each piece was written for the release of its respective film, a few years apart. It’s the first time I’ve ever compared and contrasted my own takes on a single filmmaker back-to-back(-to-back) and, weirdly, almost as enjoyable as posting pictures of Penelope Cruz. Aside from the obvious highlighting of melodrama, cinephilia and transvestites – or, in Broken Embraces‘ case, lack thereof – it’s instructive to see various repetitions and variations in the writing. I guess the simple conclusion is, we’re not all Almodóvar, in terms of consistent acumen and focus… though I’d be interested to hear any feedback. Muchos gracias!

Tagged: