Ending a glorious run of viewings at ¡VIVA!: The 28th Manchester Spanish & Latin Film festival American with Patrimonio Nacional (1981-also reviewed) by auteur film maker Luis GarcIa Berlanga, I decided to continue exploring the cinema of Spain, by ending the night watching a title from fellow auteur Pedro Almodovar.
View on the film:
For what would be the last self-production he would do before Tesauro productions got involved in the making of his next title Dark Habits (1983), co-writer (with Terry Lennox, later to become first assistant director on the next two movies by the film maker) / directing auteur Pedro Almodovar reveals in the fantastic The Pedro Almodóvar Archives by Paul Duncan, Pedro Almodovar, and Vicente Molina Foix that the movie was written at his desk whilst he was continuing to work at Telefonica.
The screenplay sadly never shakes off the impression of being written when someone had a few minutes spare at work,with Almodovar sprinting in lively set-pieces which feature his first dip into psychological Thriller, via exploring the traumatic rejection Sexilia's (played with a striking raw expressiveness by regular collaborator Cecilia Roth) experiences on the beach from her dad (along with a tease into Giallo on a driller killer photo-shoot), and running to a heighten Melodrama chase at the airport romance final, ending on a bawdy airplane gag that Almodovar would return to in I'm So Excited (2013-also reviewed.)
The glimpses to Almodovar's future recurring motifs/themes makes the wandering nature of the friendships/ relationships stand out starkly, with the frank dialogue on sex feeling more aimed at kicking against buttoned-up society, rather then bringing an intimate depth to the relationships of the women.
The start of a beautiful friendship, Antonio Banderas gives a mad-cap turn in his second credited role as Sadec, while Kriminal (1966-also reviewed) lead actress Helga Line perfectly hits the ripe Screwball Comedy Melodrama one-liners as Princess Toraya.
Filmed in the Disco and gig venues he was regularly visiting at the time, director Almodovar & his regular collaborator of this era, cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez play a spur of the moment Punk Rock atmosphere, oozing across the screen in the brash neon colours sprayed on the clubs,while the minimal use of a score, allows for in the moment rough notes to be played, as Sexilia enters the labyrinth of passion.
View on the film:
For what would be the last self-production he would do before Tesauro productions got involved in the making of his next title Dark Habits (1983), co-writer (with Terry Lennox, later to become first assistant director on the next two movies by the film maker) / directing auteur Pedro Almodovar reveals in the fantastic The Pedro Almodóvar Archives by Paul Duncan, Pedro Almodovar, and Vicente Molina Foix that the movie was written at his desk whilst he was continuing to work at Telefonica.
The screenplay sadly never shakes off the impression of being written when someone had a few minutes spare at work,with Almodovar sprinting in lively set-pieces which feature his first dip into psychological Thriller, via exploring the traumatic rejection Sexilia's (played with a striking raw expressiveness by regular collaborator Cecilia Roth) experiences on the beach from her dad (along with a tease into Giallo on a driller killer photo-shoot), and running to a heighten Melodrama chase at the airport romance final, ending on a bawdy airplane gag that Almodovar would return to in I'm So Excited (2013-also reviewed.)
The glimpses to Almodovar's future recurring motifs/themes makes the wandering nature of the friendships/ relationships stand out starkly, with the frank dialogue on sex feeling more aimed at kicking against buttoned-up society, rather then bringing an intimate depth to the relationships of the women.
The start of a beautiful friendship, Antonio Banderas gives a mad-cap turn in his second credited role as Sadec, while Kriminal (1966-also reviewed) lead actress Helga Line perfectly hits the ripe Screwball Comedy Melodrama one-liners as Princess Toraya.
Filmed in the Disco and gig venues he was regularly visiting at the time, director Almodovar & his regular collaborator of this era, cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez play a spur of the moment Punk Rock atmosphere, oozing across the screen in the brash neon colours sprayed on the clubs,while the minimal use of a score, allows for in the moment rough notes to be played, as Sexilia enters the labyrinth of passion.