A Month of Almodóvar
At their core, Pedro Almodóvar’s films are about lonely people yearning for some sort of connection. His characters are obsessive, self indulgent, and unashamed, with women often at the center of his films, driving the narrative. Arguably the most popular and important filmmaker to have emerged from Spain, Almodóvar gained critical acclaim for his provocative and sometimes campy storytelling. The world of his films exists in vibrant colour. He isn’t subtle and that translates in the look of his films. Bold and colourful designs take hold of everything from the smallest object to the most meaningful centerpiece, saturating everything from the costumes to the set design and lighting.
Almodóvar grew up in a small rural town in Spain. His parents had hoped he would become a priest, but he was drawn to cinema and went against their wishes to make a career out of it. He began directing feature films in the late seventies and was a crucial figure in La Movida Madrileña (the Madrilenian Movement), a cultural renaissance that followed the death of Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco. He works and lives in Spain and runs a production company with his brother so that he can continue to make his films independently.
The films chosen for this series highlight the key themes of his body of work: Catholicism, motherhood, addiction, sexuality and transgender issues.
Art by Archie Sarjeant.
Series Films
All about my mother (1999)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
March 3, 2022
Winner of the 2000 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Pedro Almodóvar’s most beloved picture, All About My Mother explores the love, loss, compassion that comes with motherhood. After unexpectedly losing her teenage son, Nurse Manuela (Cecilia Roth) sets out to search for the boy’s long-lost father in Barcelona. While grieving in a new city she finds herself playing a maternal role to an actress suffering from drug addiction (Candela Peña), a transgender sex worker (Antonia San Juan), pregnant nun living with HIV (Penélope Cruz), and an illustrious star of the stage (Marisa Paredes).
tHE SKIN I LIVE IN (2011)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
March 17, 2022
Described by the acclaimed director as a "horror film without screams or frights,” The Skin I Live In takes the mad scientist trope and twists it into something truly ugly: a lack of autonomy and consent. After the death of his wife, the brilliant and obsessive Dr.Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) will stop at nothing to create a synthetic skin that can withstand any kind of damage. He perfects his project on a mysterious and highly volatile young woman, Vera (Elena Anaya).
PAIN AND GLORY (2019)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
March 24, 2022
Time magazine’s Best Movie of 2019, and Pedro Almodóvar’s most auto-biographical work, Pain and Glory follows film director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), as he recovers from the trauma of the death of his mother and his recent back operation. Salvador has given up on work and retreated into a depressive cycle, reliant on medication. A film festival wants to reunite the director with the star (Asier Etxeandia) of his 1980s film Sabor, a film that fractured his relationship with said actor, for a screening. As he reconnects with the actor he reflects on the choices he's made in life as the past and present come crashing down around him. Almodóvar took experiences from his own life for the film, including his relationship with his mother, his physical ailments, and his occasionally contentious relationship with Antonio Banderas. Fun fact, the house that Salvador lives in is Almodovar’s real house and the wardrobe was supplied from his closet!
