Pedro Almodóvar.

By staff -- Críticas, 12/15/2007

As writer and film critic Vicente Molina Foix indicates in the introduction, Pedro Almodóvar “incarnates a whole country for a foreign public” that eagerly follows the production of this unusual filmmaker. Born in the stark province of La Mancha, the celebrated director showcased his experimental bent in his earliest films with daring subject matters of the artistic movement known as la movida, an iconoclastic trend following Francisco Franco’s death in 1975. This book effectively traces Almodóvar’s development, from some of his first movida-inspired films (Folle… folle… fólleme… Tim, now long lost) to the most outrageous (Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón), to, finally, his current and more mature productions. Méjean touches upon several of Almodóvar’s trademark motifs, such as the presence of strong women characters, his exploration of autobiographical elements (e.g., his mother figures and his homosexuality), and the impossibility of achieving a perfect love. Of particular interest is the analysis of Almodóvar’s careful selection of his actors, for example, his casting of the iconic Spanish singer Miguel Bosé as a transsexual in Tacones lejanos, and his affinity for the female actors with whom he works: Carmen Maura, Victoria Abril, and Penélope Cruz, and even his own mother. An in-depth review of Almodóvar’s complete film production, including two outstanding chapters on his last two films, La mala educación and Volver, this book is highly recommended.—Rafael Ocasio, Agnes Scott Coll., Decatur, GA