Pedro
Almodóvar
Year Born: 1949
Country of Origin: Spain
Background (education/upbringing):
Almodóvar
couldn't study filmmaking because he didn't have the money to afford it.
Besides, the filmmaking schools were closed in early 70s by Franco's
government. Instead, he found a job in the Spanish phone company and saved his
salary to buy a Super 8 camera. From 1972 to 1978, he devoted himself to make
short films with the help of of his friends. The "premieres" of those
early films were famous in the rapidly growing world of the Spanish
counter-culture. In few years, Almodóvar became a star of "La
Movida", the pop cultural movement of late 70s Madrid.
First Feature
Most notable Films:
All About My Mother, Volver, Talk to Her
Major Influences: Inspired Spanish filmmakers and students of
film.
Genre’s Explored: Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Family, Romance,
Mystery, News, Thriller, Short, Music, Talk-show, Crime, Biography, horror,
musical, sci-fi
Stylistic Tendencies:
Complex narratives, melodrama, strong elements of
pop culture and songs, humor, strong colors, passion and desire. Family and
identity are among Almodovar’s most prevalent themes.
Typical Content: Assassins, rapists, drama, humanity, humor,
desire, lust, melodrama
Awards & accolades:
2003
Oscar for best writing, original Screenplay for Talk to Her
2007
Silver Condor for best foreign film, Volver
2003
Silver Condor for best foreign film, Talk to Her
Nominated
for many Oscars, Silver Condor, Silver Ariel and BAFTA film awards.
Long-term collaborators: Alberto Iglesias
Interesting facts/ etc:
Personal Quote: The
characters in my films are assassins, rapists and so on, but I don't treat them
as criminals, I talk about their humanity
Talk to Her
Pedro Almodóvar likes to
use complex narratives, melodrama, strong elements of pop culture and songs. He
uses light and crude humor, loves to show strong colors in many of his scenes.
Lust and desire are impacting elements in each of his films. Almodovar enjoys
the complexity of family relationships to be torn and brought down through
disaster, to show the humanity and emotions that captivate audiences; this
aspect is among Almodovar’s most prevalent themes.
Almodovar
style, vision and overall philosophy of his films show people who most would
consider villains at a glance, in
respect are treated as people and dwell into their humanity and emotional
torment they go through. Trying to pull the viewer in the hearts and minds of
the characters.
In “Talk to
Her” Benigno and Marco begin a relationship through common relations to those
they care about that have the misfortune to fall into a coma. Lydia and Alicia.
Almodovar wants the viewers to understand through his characters the warping of
one mind and brutal events that affect the surrounding lives of those attached.
One man being more joyful the other more darkened by the events that brought
his girlfriend into the coma.
Almodóvar
keeps bringing up his philosophy through the characters, in Talk to Her, one
characters lifestyle is thrown apart, dealing with his deep relationship with
the one he loves, and his new attachments to his new friend both bonding in
their shared devotion to women who cannot return their affection. Almodóvar
shows two paths through this hardship both men go through that become
intertwined and turns out to be an interesting melodrama.
Volver
Pedro
Almodóvar is one of the only directors who, a quarter-century into his career,
remains an international brand name, his every new film anticipated and talked
about the way Bergman's or Godard's or Antonioni's used to be. Volver
("To Return") is his latest in a long run of wonderful pictures. In
it, his once-kitschy obsession with color and surface continues to deepen into
a big, bold, almost painterly style.
An
act of violence early on lends the film some thriller elements, and there's no
shortage of goofy quick-hide-in-the-closet farce, but at heart Volver is
a straight-up domestic drama, almost a telenovela, with revelations,
reversals, and tearful reunions.
Watching
Almodóvar work, you have to have a high tolerance for melodrama to see past the
apparent corniness of his plot twists. But even if you're allergic to cliché,
don't roll your eyes too soon. This is lush, fertile, emotionally rich filmmaking
that pulls you into the characters. The ideas tend to sneak up on you slowly,
but the feelings jump towards you fast and strong. No matter how jaded a viewer
you are, the idea of a dead mother—or any lost object of love—reappearing out
of the past to make peace with the living has an archetypal force that's hard
to get around.
Volver is a celebration of a way of life
that's particularly Spanish. As much as it's a tribute to maternity and the
feminine life force. It has a strong emotional bond to any female viewer of the
harsh and sensitive ideas towards rape. Having close relationships to all
parties, the characters are heavily intertwined and leading to a strong
compelling story that Almodóvar wants to express.
No comments:
Post a Comment