MovieChat Forums > ¿Qué he hecho YO para merecer esto!! (1985) Discussion > A Bad Almodovar Film? YES!

A Bad Almodovar Film? YES!

posted 14 years ago by film_ophile
7 replies | jump to latest

This week we have been screening our own little Almodovar retrospective. We re-watched this today, having recently rewatched: Law of Desire; Matador; Flower of My Secret; Live Flesh. With this fiasco of half-as_ed story lines, all we could figure was "What was he THINKing??" It felt like one long LSD trip. A number of fun plot lines and plot devices were lost in a maelstrom of unfocussed
intentions. arggggh. I completely adore Almodovar's films in all their aspects, but this film was a major loser. It's pretty realistic to say that most geniuses have at least one failed effort.I enjoyed, as always, Carmen Maura and the grandmother, as well as the potential fun of the little girl's gift, and the scene of Pedro himself doing a (dubbed)musical number. Maybe what he learned making this film- enabled him to produce his great works; but that's about the only fact that would validate the experience of What Have I Done....

Ad hoc, Ad loc, Quid pro queeee,
So little time and so much to see

[–] davidgoesboating 14 years ago

Funnily enough, having seen 10 Almodovar films (including a lot of his recent stuff), I reckon this is close to being my favourite. I quite enjoyed the absence of the kind of melodrama that's marred his recent films. Not sure what you disliked about this so much. Especially considering it's such an early work, I thought it was great.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] maddox-richard 14 years ago

A Bad Almodovar Film? NO! This is my favourite Almodovar film. Maybe it's not for those who want the style and sophistication of his 'mature' works but this here trash is trash of the highest order! I love it firstly because I find it side-splittingly funny but also I love it because it's that rare film which rises above its base values (a la John Waters, Paul Bartel etc) and rather than simply ending up as cheap, cynical and funny it somehow ends up having more heart than any earnest, social reality/kitchen sink message film. One of my pet theories (which I hope is a universal truth I've just not read yet) is that whenever a director truly loves the character portrayed by his actor the magic of this love lifts the film above any baser elements or 'lack of technique': Love wins out over technique time and time again. Conversely, when I try to work out what is 'missing' from an otherwise technically proficient movie, I start to doubt whether the director truly loved the character/s brought to life by the cast. In this way I have found that Fellini truly loves Cabiria, Godard truly loves Angela and beyond a doubt, Almodovar truly loves Gloria. (As did Cassavetes...)

[–] film_ophile 14 years ago

it's so funny. i completely agree with your theory on a director loving a character. spot on. but boy this film was soooo bad, for me.ah well!ol' pedro has definitely made the world a better place for so many of us. Ethics in a kaleidoscope panorama.

The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.

[–] CoSMiGoNoN 13 years ago

Agree with the OP. I picked up this film just because it's Almodovar and everything he touches turns into gold, except this film. It's just all over the place and it really goes nowhere.

[–] ibbi 13 years ago

I think he's made worse movies. I love this one, I don't think it's perfect, but few things are. It beautifully takes this tiny group of people and tells their epic story. That last shot encapsulates it so perfectly. All that drama, and it was all in this tiny little space.

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[–] orchidclub 11 years ago

At first I thought it was one of my least favorite of his films, but it grew on me as I was watching it. By the end, it was one of my faves.

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