I'm a huge fan of Almodovar even though I've only seen a few of his films, mostly his later ones. But "I'm So Excited" was just so bad it was hard to believe the same guy directed it as masterpieces like Volver and Talk to Her. Every director is allowed his/her weak link and Silencio does look promising but I'm a little nervous now after how awful ISE was. Thoughts/hopes, anyone?
shareIn all due respect, ISE was a throwback to classic Almodovar's heyday in the early 80's , so seeing such amazing films like Talk to Her and Volver...but if you haven't seen his early films I urge you do yourself a favor and treat yourself to some vintage Almodovar...it will make you fall in love with him all over again.
shareI did see Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and there are some similarities in terms of over the top comedy for sure, but even then ISE just seemed to have a lot less heart to it. Haven't seen any other early films of his though - any suggestions where to start?
shareAlthough "All About My Mother" and "Talk to Her" are tied as my favorite Almodovar films, "Law of Desire" isn't far behind and is my favorite from his early phase. I also quite enjoyed "Women on the Verge...," "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!," "Matador," and, to a lesser extent, "Dark Habits" and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" Haven't had the pleasure to check out "Labyrinth of Passion" or "Pepi, Luci, Bom" yet.
His second, more mature and conventional (in a good way) phase began with "The Flower of My Secret," and kept getting better and better with "Live Flesh," "Mother," and "Her." "Bad Education," "Volver," "Broken Embraces," and "The Skin I Live In," are also fine films. I haven't seen "I'm So Excited!," I know it got bad reviews and it definitely doesn't look one of his best, but it does seem to me to be a throwback to his 80s extravaganzas. I want to see it for myself.
Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.
I would agree with your list of favourite, but would add High Heels, which can be hard to track down on DVD for some obscure reason.
But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.
It's funny that you mention that now - I just saw "High Heels" for the first time yesterday (followed by "Law of Desire" and "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", all on the big screen!). I enjoyed High Heels quite a bit, particularly Victoria Abril's performance.
The Cinefamily in LA is doing a COMPLETE Almodovar retrospective this month. I also saw "Labyrinth of Passion" for the first time on Friday, and that's now probably my least favorite of his movies, but still glad I saw it. The only ones I still need to see are "Pepi, Luci, Bom" and "I'm So Excited!"
Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.
[deleted]
It's a completely different type of movie from Amantes Pasajeros. (Incidentally, everything that was funny about Amantes Pasajeros probably didn't translate well... It was mainly a spoof of the economic crisis/depression here and political corruption here in Spain. It had a few moments, but isn't one of Almodóvar's best.) Julieta is more in line with La Mala Educación or Abrazos Rotos--a drama that jumps between the past and present. The sets, costumes, music and look of the movie (especially the vintage scenes) are impeccable.
share[deleted]
Just saw it.
Not a bad movie but something is missing. I just couldn't care about Julieta.
Not the worst Almodovar but also far to be his best movie.
To understand the whole movie you need to be a native speaker, and even if you are a native speaker like me, there are details that you don’t catch. For example where Julieta spreads the ashes (if you don’t where it is, you don’t understand the scene).
I Live in Austria and I watched with German subtitles, and the subtitles are missing some important details.
Do tell - where do they scatter the ashes? (And don't say whose ashes).
shareWell, this is much more in line with the latter day, sober Almodovar that made those movies from Live Flesh through Broken Embraces, yes. If that's the Pedro you like then this is definitely one to watch.
________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehqFDXjKpOE
I think it will be. I can't wait to see it. It's only going to be playing at one theater in my area on Friday that's a bit of a drive, but the trip will be worth it.
shareI thought I'm So Excited was alright for what it was. This is not one of his best films, but it's better than I'm So Excited and definitely worth seeing. The main problems with it are that the daughter character is not as well-developed as she could have been and the ending is a total cop-out. However, the acting is good and the frame narrative structure works very well.
share