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Broken Embraces
Postiwyd gan dirty o Caerdydd - Cyhoeddwyd ar 10/08/2009 am 13:30
- Tagiwyd fel Diwylliant, Ffilmiau
Pedro Almodovar is perhaps the most well-known Spanish director, screenwriter and producer of his generation.
His work, especially his later films, has propelled him to great fame. His last film Volver (2006) starring Penelope Cruz won six awards at Cannes, including the Palme d'Or, but not all of his pieces have been released to such critical acclaim.
Almodovar's work has certainly evolved over the years. He started his career heavily influenced by the experimental side of cinema and theatre that he encountered in Madrid while in his 20s. Almodovar's early short films were shot on Super-8s and were shown at night screenings because of their controversial themes. The fertile ground of Spain's capital centre had a blossoming alternative scene and was soon part of an important cultural renaissance known as La Movida Madrile?a that emerged after the death of General Franco in 1975.
The first full-length film he ever wrote and directed was Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980), a seedy film highly influenced by the Post-Punk/New Romantic movement that was sweeping Europe. Full of sadomasochism, bathroom jokes and a poorly-directed (and sadly somewhat humorously acted out) rape-scene, it wasn't a big hit with the critics for the thirty one year old director. Almodovar described this film as being about “. . . strong and vulnerable human beings, who devote themselves to passion, who suffer love and have fun”.
The movie got itself an eighteen rating, restricting it from the audience that would appreciate the crude humour, music and drug references the most: teenagers.
Almodovar kept strong and it is through these early years as a director that his signature style of flamboyance, bright colours, melodrama and narratives depicting complex relationships between people were nurtured and soon began to blossom.
A revolving door of actors, colours, low-lifes, emotions, empty television sets, and the infamous and exhilarating exploration of the relationships between parents and their children was soon to be his distinct style; hitting home and relating to more of us than I think we would care to admit.
A period of great creativity during the 1980s resulted in a multitude of different films being written and directed, each with drastically different storylines from the last. The craziest one, Dark Habits (1983), a blacker than black comedy about a cabaret performer who seeks solitude in a Spanish nunnery, who upon arrival, finds that the nuns in the convent are most unconventional. Their hobbies include tailoring clothes for the statue of Virgin Mary, chain-smoking, taking drugs and of course, (what bizarre story about nuns wouldn't be complete without it?) the Mother Superior being a lesbian.
Joking aside, Almodovar's work may be unorthodox in both his approach and subject matter, but they always have a deeper underlying issue that encourages the viewer to think about the subject raised. Take Dark Habits at face value and it is a straight-forward comedy about a bunch of lesbian nuns wielding spliffs instead of bibles. Yet a deeper viewing reveals the thinking behind the film, which questions religion in a society where nuns are an anachronism to a culture where spiritual desolation and moral bankruptcy is somewhat the norm.
Many years and numerous films later, Almodovar is a highly-respected director with countless awards for his work. Further issues like AIDS, existentialism, transvestism and faith are dealt with in the touching motion picture All About My Mother (1999), starring Penelope Cruz.
The summer of 2009 sees his new film come out, titled Broken Embraces. Shot in a classic 1950s American film-noir style, it takes place in the 1990s and the present day and addresses the story of a four-way love from the perspective of a blind writer.
Its poster is beautifully designed in an art nouveau/nouvelle vague fashion and hypnotizes with its use of lush shades of pinks and purples contrasting with a bold brown and blue motif. The poster is completed with a dazzlingly romantic 1960s inspired portrait of lead woman Penelope Cruz in neutral colours which collides with various deep shades of blue.
Almodovar's posters are as expressive as the films themselves, making impressive use of symbolism, just have a look at the vivacious poster for Volver.
The UK premier took place at Somerset House where Film4 hold their annual film festival, The Summer Screen, in London to a mass of cinema-lovers. Presenters from BBC Two's The Culture Show were present to interview a charismatic and optimistic Almodovar who spoke in-depth about his new film on-screen which is available on iPlayer. It was a huge hit with the critics.
Expect captivating cinematography, seductive leading men and women, oddball characters, deranged yet delightful families and the usual themes of death, passion, illicit love and dark secrets when Broken Embraces released on Friday 28th August, certificate fifteen.
