Dvd/150: MUJERES AL BORDE DE UN ATAQUE DE NERVIOS (Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown) (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)

30 years on, the film that catapulted Almodóvar to international acclaim still glows with colour, fun and warmth.

Pepa is desperate... she's burned the bed, filled the Gazpacho with tranquilizers and ripped the phone out because her lover Ivan has left her and is not returning her calls....

But she is interrupted by her friend Candela, on the run now the police have arrested her lover as a terrorist, and Carlos and Marisa who arrive to view the flat...   and Carlos is Ivan's estranged son.  Outside, Ivan's wife Lucia, institutionalized for 20 years after he left her, is out for revenge...

Almodóvar allows the farce to develop at it's own unforced pace which allow you to fully appreciate Carmen Maura's magnificent performance as Pepa.

Almodóvar's glorious ensemble includes Julieta Serrano (Lucia), Antonio Banderas (Carlos), Rossy de Palma (Marisa), Maria Barranco (Candela), Fernando Guillén (Ivan) and Kiti Manver as his lover.

Shelf or charity shop?  As long as I have a shelf... this will be on it!
 

 

DVD/150: MATADOR (Pedro Almodóvar, 1986)

Diego is a former matador who runs a bullfighter academy; one of his pupils is insecure Ángel, who sees visions and faints if he sees blood.  Dominated by his pious mother, he attempts to rape Eva, a neighbour who is also Diego's lover. 

Ángel confesses to the police but the detective is intrigued when he confesses to unsolved murders of naked men stabbed in the neck, as well as two missing female pupils from Diego's school.  Lawyer Maria takes up Ángel's defence - but in Hichcockian fashion, we know she is the murderer, and she wants Diego... who is also obsessed with deadly sex.

Almodóvar's film glows with colour even as the mood darkens, Nacho Martinez and Assumpta Serna are a memorable deadly couple while Antonio Banderas shines as Ángel; excellent support from Eusebio Poncela and Pedro alumni Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave, Julieta Serrano, Veronica Forqué and trans actress Bibi Andersen.

Shelf or charity shop?  Apart from everything else, it's worth keeping for the Assumpta Serna's 80s power-dressing  wardrobe.. Shelf!!

Dvd/150: ENTRE TINIEBLAS (DARK HABITS, Pedro Almodóvar, 1983)

Almodóvar's third film was made with proper film company funding which shows in the look of the film: finally Pedro finds a visual language and, although set in a convent, his use of shadows and colour make it a visual pleasure.

DARK HABITS is hampered by the dull central performance of Cristina Sánchez Pascual.  Pascual, while fine in a supporting role in LABYRINTH OF PASSION, was the film company boss' lover and her involvement was non-negotiable.

Luckily, Pedro surrounds her with sublime actresses who became his Almodóvar regulars.

Julieta Serrano is wonderful as the drug-taking, lesbian Mother Superior who gives sanctuary to singer Pascual who is implicated in her lover's death; Serano turns a cartoon character into a piercing study of lonely despair.

Memorable too are three zany nuns - masochistic Marisa Paredes, Carmen Maura (playing bongos to her pet tiger!), secret novelist Chus Lampreave - and Cecilia Roth too.

Shelf or charity shop? Despite Pascual's charisma bypass, Sisters Julieta, Carmen, Marisa and Chus make it a keeper...

Dvd/150: PEPI, LUCI, BOM Y OTRAS CHICAS DEL MONTÓN (PEPI, LUCI, BOM AND OTHER GIRLS ON THE HEAP, Pedro Almodóvar, 1980)

Almodóvar's debut feature film is only 77 minutes long and is a whirlwind of scattergun story-telling; sleazy and unfocused but captures the heady movida movement in Madrid after Franco's death.

PEPI, LUCI, BOM allows a first glimpse of future El Deseo stars - Kiti Manver and Julieta Serano both feature in eye-catching cameos in a club scene, Cecilia Roth is seen in a commercial for wonder-panties, Cristina Sanchez Pascual plays a screeching bearded lady and Fabio McNamara flaps about shrieking as per.

But it's dazzling heart is Carmen Maura as Pepi who is raped by fascist cop Felix Rotaeta at the start of the film, and who exacts her revenge by getting her lesbian punk singer friend Bom to seduce his wife Luci, a downtrodden woman who loves to be degraded.

With it's mad swipes at pop culture and personal politics, it's amateurish at times but huge fun.

Shelf or charity shop? It's Almodóvar, it stars Carmen Maura and uses Little Nell's DO THE SWIM as it's title track - SHELF!!!!