Mondays «Great Artists Series» (of all genres of art): Pedro Almodóvar, on a Wednesday…

A man of La Mancha, like my maternal grandmother. He was the enfant terrible director in the 1980’s and now, mature and well defined in his art, Almodóvar still reigns supreme in Spanish and European cinema.

His latest movie, Madres paralelas (Parallel Mothers) from 2021, which he wrote and directed, stars Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde and a special participation by Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Rossy de Palma. All very well known names, not only in the ​Almodóvar universe, but in Spanish cinema and television. This movie is powerful and meaningful in many ways for it discusses something that in Spain is very relevant which is historical memory, concerning the Spanish Civil War and the victims of the Franco regime. Almodóvar himself has stated: «Hasta que no se pague esa deuda con las familias de los desaparecidos no podremos cerrar nuestra historia reciente». («Until that debt is not paid to the families of those who have disappeared we cannot close that chapter of our recent history.»)

One of our most famous actors, Antonio Banderas…made it big in Hollywood…I would say owes his career to Almodóvar who put him in most of his early movies and catapulted his art to stardom later. He made him «el chico Almodóvar». This has been the case with many of the Almodóvar actresses, like Victoria Abril, Carmen Maura, Cecilia Roth, Rossy de Palma and Penélope Cruz, «las chicas Almodóvar».

His movies were always a smash. Funny, cynical, sarcastic, lunatic, frenetic, psychotic, neurotic, brilliant, genius, fabulous. His cast, which was faithful to him and he to them, created a special type of experience to the viewer. One expected something but got something else always, but within all the differences that his movies brought to our attention, we all knew we were watching the madness of Almodóvar, which was genius.

Almodóvar opened (1986) his film production company, El Deseo, together with his brother Agustín Almodóvar. The company began by producing Law of Desire, 1987, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, (1988), nominated Best Foreign Language Film, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, (1989), High Heels, (1991), Live Flesh, (1997), All About My Mother, (1999), Talk to Her, (2002). These two won Academy Award each for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay, respectively. Then came Volver, (2006), Broken Embraces, (2009), The Skin I Live In, (2011), Julieta, (2016), Pain and Glory, (2019), and the last one, nominated for two Academy Awards as well as the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Parallel Mothers, (2021).

His national and international fame has won him a cult following, as well as many prizes and awards to include two Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards, two Emmy Awards, six European Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, nine Goya Awards, one Venice Film Festival award, and four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009 he received an honorary doctoral degree from Harvard University, as well as one from the University of Oxford in 2016. All these among many other European and international awards.

The man from La Mancha, was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, in the province of Castilla-La Mancha, one 25th of September 1949. He moved to Madrid in the 1970’s where he met Carmen Maura and started doing experimental cinema. Then he joined La Movida Madrileña (Madrid Movement), a renaissance of artists following the death of the Franco regime and even sang (parody) in a Glam Rock group.

His first movie was Pepi, Lucy, Bom which he wrote and filmed with a 16 mm camera in 1980. It starred Carmen Maura, Alaska and Eva Silva. The movie showed all the things that had been prohibited and censured by the Franco regime and even included a golden shower during a knitting scene. Explicit sexuality, that is what he did at the time. Liberation from the restraints of a dictatorial regime. Yes, the dawn of freedom and Almodóvar, together with other artists were stretching their wings and trying out new and exciting things. Pepi, Lucy, Bom premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival of 1980 and won Almodóvar a cult following that has been faithful to him from then on. Many have compared this film to the 1970’s films of John Waters.

Well, this is the second edition of this series…or limited series…of great artists of all genres. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you wish to suggest a candidate, please leave a message, I will greatly appreciate it, as I do your time, visits and kind words.

Cheers…