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58-683: The 13th year of the festival in 2009 included 75 films such as a screening of Spanish director's Pedro Almodóvar 's Broken Embraces at Grauman's Chinese Theatre . Almodóvar received the festival's Gabi lifetime Achievement Award. Other films screened at the 2009 even included Josh Crook 's La Soga from Santiago in the Dominican Republic , Down for Life about a Latino gang leader in Los Angeles, Santos by Nicholas Lopez Salvador , Sebastian Gutierrez 's Women in Trouble from Venezuela and

116-437: A Nervous Breakdown (1988).The film debuted at the 45th Venice film festival . This feminist light comedy of rapid-fire dialogue and fast-paced action further established Almodóvar as a "women's director" in the same vein as George Cukor and Rainer Werner Fassbinder . Almodóvar has said that women make better characters: "women are more spectacular as dramatic subjects, they have a greater range of registers, etc." Women on

174-599: A better critical reception in Italy and France and won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film . In the US, Miramax's lack of promotional effort was blamed for the film's underperformance in the country. It was however nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Kika (1993) His next film Kika (1993) centres on the good-hearted, but clueless, makeup artist named Kika (Verónica Forqué) who gets herself tangled in

232-699: A deep sense because the Western is a male genre. What I can tell you about the film is that it has a lot of the elements of the Western. It has the gunslinger, it has the ranch, it has the sheriff, but what it has that most Westerns don't have is the kind of dialogue that I don't think a Western film has ever captured between two men. Principal photography began in August 2022 in the Tabernas Desert , southern Spain and wrapped in September. Strange Way of Life premiered at

290-423: A different sin. This film has an almost all-female cast including Carmen Maura, Julieta Serrano , Marisa Paredes and Chus Lampreave , actresses who Almodóvar would cast again in later films. This is Almodóvar's first film in which he used popular music to express emotion: in a pivotal scene, the mother superior and her protégé sing along with Lucho Gatica 's bolero " Encadenados ". Dark Habits premiered at

348-406: A fruitful collaboration with Victoria Abril . Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) tells the story about a recently released psychiatric patient, Ricky (Antonio Banderas), who kidnaps a porn star, Marina (Abril), in order to make her fall in love with him. Rather than populate the film with many characters, as in his previous films, here the story focuses on the compelling relationship at its center:

406-544: A homage to Italian neorealism , although this tribute also involves jokes about paedophilia , prostitution, and a telekinetic child. The film, set in the tower blocks around Madrid in post-Franco Spain, depicts female frustration and family breakdown, echoing Jean-Luc Godard 's Two or Three Things I Know About Her and strong story plots from Roald Dahl 's Lamb to the slaughter and Truman Capote 's A Day's work , but with Almodóvar's unique approach to film making. Matador (1986) Almodóvar's growing success caught

464-471: A horse across the desert to visit his friend Jake who is now the Sheriff of a small Wild West town. Jake is informed by one of town residents that the suspect in the recent murder of his brother's widow who was last seen leaving her home looked like her violent boyfriend Joe. Sworn to look after his brother's wife, Jake takes it upon himself to arrest her killer personally. He is surprised when Silva shows up, and

522-406: A lot in the film I like". Dark Habits (1983) For his next film Dark Habits (1983), Almodóvar was approached by multi-millionaire Hervé Hachuel who wanted to start a production company to make films starring his girlfriend, Cristina Sánchez Pascual. Hachuel set up Tesuaro Production and asked Almodóvar to keep Pascual in mind. Almodóvar had already written the script for Dark Habits and

580-449: A novella, Fuego en las entrañas ( Fire in the Guts ) and kept writing stories that were eventually published in a compilation volume entitled El sueño de la razón ( The Dream of Reason ). Almodóvar bought his first camera, a Super-8 , with his first paycheck from Telefónica when he was 22 years old, and began to make hand-held short films. Around 1974, he made his first short film, and by

638-468: A ranch alone, and Silva tells him that they could keep each other company and take care of one another. In June 2022, it was announced that Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal would star in Pedro Almodóvar 's short film A Strange Way of Life . It is produced by Almodóvar's El Deseo in association with Yves Saint Laurent , whose head designer Anthony Vaccarello also served as an associate producer and

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696-591: A romantic comedy, and the director's most clear love story, with a plot similar to William Wyler 's thriller The Collector . Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival to a polarized critical reaction. In the United States, the film received an X rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the stigma attached to the X rating marginalized

754-518: A small rural town of the Province of Ciudad Real in Spain. He has two older sisters, Antonia and María Jesús, and one brother Agustín . His father, Antonio Almodóvar, was a winemaker, and his mother, Francisca Caballero (b.1916), who died in 1999, was a letter reader and transcriber for illiterate neighbours. When Almodóvar was eight years old, the family sent him to study at a religious boarding school in

812-715: A soundtrack because it was very difficult. The magnetic strip was very poor, very thin. I remember that I became very famous in Madrid because, as the films had no sound, I took a cassette with music while I personally did the voices of all the characters, songs and dialogues". After four years of working with shorts in Super-8 format, Almodóvar made his first full-length film Folle, folle, fólleme, Tim ( Fuck Me, Fuck Me, Fuck Me, Tim ) in Super-8 in 1978, followed by his first 16 mm short Salomé . Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980) Almodóvar made his first feature film Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980) with

870-480: A very low budget of 400,000 pesetas , shooting it in 16 mm and later blowing it up into 35 mm. The film was based on a comic strip titled General Erections that he had written and revolves around the unlikely friendship between Pepi (Carmen Maura), who wants revenge on a corrupt policeman who raped her, a masochistic housewife named Luci (Eva Siva), and Bom (Alaska), a lesbian punk rock singer. Inspired by La Movida Madrileña , Pepi, Luci, Bom expressed

928-532: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pedro Almod%C3%B3var Pedro Almodóvar Caballero ( Spanish: [ˈpeðɾo almoˈðoβaɾ kaβaˈʎeɾo] ; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by melodrama , irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narratives. Desire, LGBTQ issues, passion, family, motherhood, and identity are among Almodóvar's most frequently explored subjects. As one of

986-593: Is a 2023 Spanish Western drama short film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar . It stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunslingers who reunite after 25 years. The film marks Almodóvar's second English-language effort, following The Human Voice (2020). Strange Way of Life premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023. It was released theatrically in Spain on 26 May 2023 by BTeam Pictures. The film received generally favourable reviews from critics. After 25 years' absence, Silva rides

1044-424: Is a profusion of technical flaws, it is called style. That's what I said joking around when I was promoting the film, but I believe that that was closer to the truth". Pepi, Luci, Bom premiered at the 1980 San Sebastián International Film Festival and despite negative reviews from conservative critics, the film amassed a cult following in Spain. It toured the independent circuits before spending three years on

1102-522: Is also known for directing several short films including The Human Voice (2020) and Strange Way of Life (2023). He made his first English-language feature film with The Room Next Door (2024), which won the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice International Film Festival . Almodóvar has received numerous accolades , including two Academy Awards , five BAFTA Awards , two Emmy Awards , two Golden Globe Awards , and nine Goya Awards . He has received

1160-551: Is built around the fractured relationship between a famous singer, Becky del Páramo (Marisa Paredes), and her news reporter daughter, Rebeca (Victoria Abril), as the pair get caught up in a murder mystery. Rebeca struggles with constantly being in her mother's shadow. The fact that Rebeca is married to Becky's former lover only adds to the tension between the two. The film was partly inspired by old Hollywood mother-daughter melodramas like Stella Dallas , Mildred Pierce , Imitation of Life and particularly Autumn Sonata , which

1218-495: Is quoted directly in the film. Production took place in 1990; Almodóvar enlisted Alfredo Mayo to shoot the film as Jose Luis Alcaine was unavailable. Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto created a score that infused popular songs and boleros . High Heels also contains a prison yard dance sequence. While High Heels was a box office success in Spain, the film received poor reviews from Spanish film critics due to its melodramatic approach and unsuspecting tonal shifts. The film got

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1276-444: Is to find one another, overcome their sexual preferences and live happily ever after on a tropical island. Framed in Madrid during La Movida Madrileña, between the dissolution of Franco's authoritarian regime and the onset of AIDS consciousness, Labyrinth of Passion caught the spirit of liberation in Madrid and it became a cult film. The film marked Almodóvar's first collaboration with cinematographer Ángel Luis Fernandez as well as

1334-578: The Berlin International Film Festival in 1987, where it won the festival's first ever Teddy Award , which recognises achievement in LGBT cinema. The film was a hit in art-house theatres and received much praise from critics. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) Almodóvar's first major critical and commercial success internationally came with the release of Women on the Verge of

1392-493: The Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023. It was also screened in the Acclaimed section of the 27th Lima Film Festival on 13 August 2023. In advance of its North American release, the film was screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September as part of a special "In Conversation With..." event with Almodóvar. The film was released theatrically in Spain on 26 May 2023 by BTeam Pictures. Mubi distributed

1450-867: The Venice Film Festival and was surrounded in controversy due its subject matter. Despite religious critics being offended by the film, it went on to become a modest critical and commercial success, cementing Almodóvar's reputation as the enfant terrible of the Spanish cinema . What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984) Carmen Maura stars in What Have I Done to Deserve This? , Almodóvar's fourth film, as Gloria, an unhappy housewife who lives with her ungrateful husband Antonio ( Ángel de Andrés López ), her mother in law ( Chus Lampreave ), and her two teenage sons. Verónica Forqué appears as her prostitute neighbor and confidante. Almodóvar has described his fourth film as

1508-567: The Venice film festival and two awards at the European Film Awards as well as being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes . It also gave Almodóvar his first Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film . Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) Almodóvar's next film marked the end of the collaboration between him and Carmen Maura, and the beginning of

1566-833: The French Legion of Honour in 1997, the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 1999, the European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award in 2013, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2019. He has also received honorary doctoral degrees from Harvard University in 2009 and from the University of Oxford in 2016. Pedro Almodóvar Caballero was born on 25 September 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava ,

1624-464: The Spanish phone company Telefónica , where he worked for 12 years. In the early 1970s, Almodóvar became interested in experimental cinema and theatre. He collaborated with the vanguard theatrical group Los Goliardos, in which he played his first professional roles and met actress Carmen Maura . Madrid's flourishing alternative cultural scene became the perfect scenario for Almodóvar's social talents. He

1682-484: The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown centres on Pepa (Carmen Maura), a woman who has been abruptly abandoned by her married boyfriend Iván ( Fernando Guillén ). Over two days, Pepa frantically tries to track him down. In the course, she discovers some of his secrets and realises her true feelings. Almodóvar included many of his usual actors, including Antonio Banderas, Chus Lampreave, Rossy de Palma , Kiti Mánver and Julieta Serrano as well as newcomer María Barranco . The film

1740-403: The actress and her kidnapper literally struggling for power and desperate for love. The film's title line Tie Me Up! is unexpectedly uttered by the actress as a genuine request. She does not know if she will try to escape or not, and when she realizes she has feelings for her captor, she prefers not to be given a chance. In spite of some dark elements, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! can be described as

1798-407: The attention of emerging Spanish film producer Andrés Vicente Gómez , who wanted to join forces to make his next film Matador (1986). The film centres on the relationship between a former bullfighter and a murderous female lawyer, who both find sexual fulfillment through acts of murder. Written together with Spanish novelist Jesús Ferrero , Matador drew away from the naturalism and humour of

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1856-485: The city of Cáceres , Extremadura , in western Spain, with the hope that he might someday become a priest. His family eventually joined him in Cáceres, where his father opened a gas station and his mother opened a bodega in which she sold her own wine. Unlike Calzada, there was a cinema in Cáceres. "Cinema became my real education, much more than the one I received from the priest", he said later in an interview. Almodóvar

1914-414: The complex way he depicted transgender characters on screen. Almodóvar said about Law of Desire : "It's the key film in my life and career. It deals with my vision of desire, something that's both very hard and very human. By this I mean the absolute necessity of being desired and the fact that in the interplay of desires it's rare that two desires meet and correspond". Law of Desire made its premiere at

1972-569: The director's previous work into a deeper and darker terrain. Almodóvar cast several of his regulars actors in key roles: Antonio Banderas was hired for the role of Ángel, a bullfighting student who, after an attempted rape incident, falsely confesses to a series of murders that he did not commit; Julieta Serrano appears as Ángel's very religious mother; while Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave, Verónica Forqué and Eusebio Poncela also appear in minor roles. Newcomers Nacho Martínez and Assumpta Serna , who would later work with Almodóvar again, had minor roles in

2030-542: The distribution of the film in the country. Miramax , who distributed the film in the US, filed a lawsuit against the MPAA over the X rating, but lost in court. However, in September 1990, the MPAA replaced the X rating with the NC-17 rating. This was helpful to films of explicit nature, like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! , that were previously categorized with pornography because of the X rating. High Heels (1991) High Heels (1991)

2088-606: The documentary La Vida Lova about gang war in El Salvador (where the movie's French director Christian Poveda was murdered). The festival is also trying to expand opportunities for young filmmakers. Short films play a substantial role at the festival, allowing lower cost entries to take part. The Academy Film Archive houses the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival Collection. This article about an American film festival

2146-712: The end of the 1970s they were shown in Madrid 's night circuit and in Barcelona . These shorts had overtly sexual narratives and no soundtrack: Dos putas, o, Historia de amor que termina en boda ( Two Whores, or, A Love Story that Ends in Marriage ) in 1974; La caída de Sodoma ( The Fall of Sodom ) in 1975; Homenaje ( Homage ) in 1976; La estrella ( The Star ) in 1977; Sexo Va: Sexo viene ( Sex Comes and Goes ); and Complementos (Shorts) in 1978, his first film in 16mm . He remembers, "I showed them in bars, at parties... I could not add

2204-708: The film in Italy and Latin America, while Pathé released it in the United Kingdom. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States on 6 October 2023, releasing it also in other markets (excluding France, Belgium, Switzerland and markets already covered by BTeam, Mubi and Pathé). This is the last Almodóvar film to be distributed by the UK branch of Pathé before it exited the British film market in November 2023 (one month after

2262-493: The film in his four-star review as "a queer Western with a hint of kink", adding that "there is some very robust and old-fashioned storytelling here and Strange Way of Life feels quite old-fashioned in its way." Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood praised Hawke and Pascal for bringing "authenticity and a believable lived-in feel to their characters and this relationship", while David Fear of Rolling Stone reviewed Strange Way of Life as "a provocative movie that brings out

2320-476: The film's costume designer. Almódovar worked with recurring collaborators such as cinematographer José Luis Alcaine and composer Alberto Iglesias , whilst Teresa Font took over film editing. The film is titled after a 1960s Portuguese fado song by Amália Rodrigues . Speaking on Dua Lipa 's podcast At Your Service , Almodóvar described the film thus: A queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other. It's about masculinity in

2378-405: The film's release). On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 77% of 97 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A tantalizing glimpse of the bond between two people, the well-acted Strange Way of Life adds a brief but still rewarding chapter to Pedro Almodóvar's filmography." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described

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2436-502: The film. Matador also marked the first time Almodóvar included a notable cinematic reference, using King Vidor 's Duel in the Sun in one scene. The film premiered in 1986 and drew some controversy due to its subject matter. Almodóvar justified his use of violence, explaining "The moral of all my films is to get to a stage of greater freedom". Almodóvar went on to note: "I have my own morality. And so do my films. If you see Matador through

2494-489: The first of several collaborations with actor Antonio Banderas . Labyrinth of Passion premiered at the 1982 San Sebastian Film Festival and while the film received better reviews than its predecessor, Almodóvar later acknowledged: "I like the film even if it could have been better made. The main problem is that the story of the two leads is much less interesting than the stories of all the secondary characters. But precisely because there are so many secondary characters, there's

2552-510: The horse and go. He does so, but as Jake moves to fire on Joe, Silva shoots Jake clean through the flesh of his waist. He drags Jake into the house and tends to his wound, telling him the shot has been clean and that he will be fine. Jake says he will have Silva arrested for attempted murder, but Silva counters that his missing the shot and subsequently tending to Jake's wound would throw that motive out. As they sit there, Silva recalls that Jake once asked him what two men could possibly do together on

2610-512: The late night showing of the Alphaville Theater in Madrid. The film's irreverence towards sexuality and social mores has prompted contemporary critics to compare it to the 1970s films of John Waters . Labyrinth of Passion (1982) His second feature Labyrinth of Passion (1982) focuses on nymphomaniac pop star, Sexila (Cecilia Roth), who falls in love with a gay middle-eastern prince, Riza Niro (Imanol Arias). Their unlikely destiny

2668-416: The lives of an American writer (Peter Coyote) and his stepson (Àlex Casanovas). A fashion conscious TV reporter (Victoria Abril), who is constantly in search of sensational stories, follows Kika's misadventures. Almodóvar used Kika as a critique of mass media , particularly its sensationalism . The film is infamous for its rape scene that Almodóvar used for comic effect to set up a scathing commentary on

2726-554: The most internationally successful Spanish filmmakers, Almodóvar and his films have developed a cult following . Almodóvar's career developed during La Movida Madrileña , a cultural renaissance that followed the end of Francoist Spain . His early films characterised the sense of sexual and political freedom of the period. In 1986, he established his own film production company, El Deseo , with his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar , who has been responsible for producing all of his films since Law of Desire (1987). His breakthrough film

2784-558: The perspective of traditional morality, it's a dangerous film because it's just a celebration of killing. Matador is like a legend. I don't try to be realistic; it's very abstract, so you don't feel identification with the things that are happening, but with the sensibility of this kind of romanticism". Law of Desire (1987) Following the success of Matador , Almodóvar solidified his creative independence by starting his own production company, El Deseo , together with his brother Agustín Almodóvar in 1986. El Deseo's first major release

2842-467: The selfish and ruthless nature of media. Kika made its premiere in 1993 and received very negative reviews from film critics worldwide; not just for its rape scene which was perceived as both misogynistic and exploitative, but also for its overall sloppiness. Almodóvar would later refer to the film as one of his weakest works. The Flower of My Secret (1995) Strange Way of Life Strange Way of Life ( Spanish : Extraña forma de vida )

2900-428: The sense of cultural and sexual freedom of the time with its many kitsch elements, campy style, outrageous humour and explicit sexuality (there is a golden shower scene in the middle of a knitting lesson). The film was noted for its lack of polished filming technique, but Almodóvar looked back fondly on the film's flaws. "When a film has only one or two [defects], it is considered an imperfect film, while when there

2958-413: The two have dinner and reminisce about their youth before having sex. The next morning, Silva tries to remind Jake of his idea of the two of them owning a ranch together, but Jake rebuffs him, accusing Silva of trying to use him: Joe is Silva's son, and he suspects Silva has only arrived in town now after being gone for 25 years to help Joe escape. They argue and Silva leaves to find Joe. Jake follows him and

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3016-420: The two men separately recall an afternoon in their youth when they first had sex. The next day, Silva finds Joe at home on his ranch and angrily excoriates him, giving him just enough money and a horse to cross to Mexico, telling him to never return. Jake surprises Joe and the two fight, until they both pull their revolvers out on one another. Silva pulls a rifle on Joe, warning him not to shoot Jake and to take

3074-552: Was Law of Desire (1987), a film about the complicated love triangle between a gay filmmaker (Eusebio Poncela), his transsexual sister (Carmen Maura), and a repressed murderously obsessive stalker (Antonio Banderas). Taking more risk from a visual standpoint, Almodóvar's growth as a filmmaker is clearly on display. In presenting the love triangle, Almodóvar drew away from most representations of homosexuals in films. The characters neither come out nor confront sexual guilt or homophobia; they are already liberated. The same can be said for

3132-789: Was Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . He achieved further success often collaborating with actors Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz . He directed Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), High Heels (1991), and Live Flesh (1997). Almodóvar's next two films, All About My Mother (1999) and Talk to Her (2002), earned him an Academy Award each for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay , respectively. His later films Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), The Skin I Live In (2011), Julieta (2016), Pain and Glory (2019), and Parallel Mothers (2021) were also praised. He

3190-616: Was a crucial figure in La Movida Madrileña (the Madrilenian Movement), a cultural renaissance that followed the death of Francisco Franco. Alongside Fabio McNamara, Almodóvar sang in a glam rock parody duo. Almodóvar also penned various articles for major newspapers and magazines, such as El País , Diario 16 and La Luna as well as contributing to comic strips, articles and stories in counterculture magazines, such as Star , El Víbora and Vibraciones . He published

3248-410: Was hesitant to cast Pascual in the leading role due to her limited acting experience. When she was cast, he felt it necessary to make changes to the script so his supporting cast were more prominent in the story. The film heralded a change in tone to somber melodrama with comic elements. Pascual stars as Yolanda, a cabaret singer who seeks refuge in a convent of eccentric nuns, each of whom explores

3306-473: Was influenced by Luis Buñuel . Against his parents' wishes, Almodóvar moved to Madrid in 1967 to become a filmmaker. When the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco , closed the National School of Cinema in Madrid, Almodóvar became self-taught. To support himself, Almodóvar had a number of jobs, including selling used items in the famous Madrid flea market El Rastro and as an administrative assistant with

3364-517: Was released in Spain in March 1988, and became a hit in the US, making over $ 7 million when it was released later that same year, bringing Almodóvar to the attention of American audiences. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown won five Goya Awards , Spain's top film honours, for Best Film , Best Original Screenplay , Best Editing (José Salcedo), Best Actress (Maura), and Best Supporting Actress (Barranco). The film won an award for best screenplay at

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