By Raquel Stecher
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar is celebrated around the world and for good reason. His films are bold yet nuanced and bursting with color. There is so much to extrapolate from his films—visually and thematically—that they beg to be watched more than once.
You can count on an Almodóvar film to explore identity, family, misogyny and sexuality all through the lens of the filmmaker’s unique style. His films are personal, self-referential and once you’ve entered the cinematic world of Almodóvar each film feels both familiar and excitingly new.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), Talk to Her (2002), Volver (2006), and, most recently, Pain and Glory (2019) have all been lauded as cinematic masterpieces and earned multiple Foreign Language Film (now International Feature Film) Oscar nominations and a win for All About My Mother (1999).
First, let’s look at Almodóvar’s visual style. You can’t watch one of his films without noticing the use of his favorite color red. It often symbolizes desire and passion. Chances are the lead character will be wearing red during a moment of heightened emotion or tension. Green is often used to symbolize jealousy, and other colors are employed in a variety of ways. Highly saturated colors dominate the screen. Almodóvar employs bright lighting with hardly any shadows.
Almodóvar is involved in every aspect of the filmmaking process from script writing, casting, directing, set design, costume, cinematography, production (along with his brother, producer Augustin Almodóvar) and more. For Almodóvar, his films are very personal. He has to find some sort of connection with a script, original or adapted, before he’s able to take it on. It’s also one of the reasons why, up until recently, that Almodóvar has only worked in his native language Spanish and his native country Spain. In an interview, he said: “I’m afraid of losing intensity and life by transposing myself into another culture.”
Almodóvar’s early films were born out of a cultural rebellion, a desire for independence, and artistic freedom in a post-Francisco Franco Spain. You can see this especially in films like Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980). Almodóvar has a unique understanding of female characters and draws wonderful performances out of his actresses. Influenced greatly by his childhood growing up around the women in his family, maternal characters are crucial in many of his later films, especially Volver (2006) and Pain and Glory (2019).
His stories explore gender and sexuality. He’s not afraid to show different forms of sexual expression and desire: straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender. The U.S. wasn’t quite ready for Almodóvar when he first started making feature films in the late 1970s. Many of his films got R or NC-17 ratings, or their U.S. releases were delayed by over a decade.
One of the key elements of Almodóvar’s work is how familiar they feel. He regularly works with the same actors, including Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, and Carmen Maura. It’s fascinating to watch how their collaborations evolve over time.
If you don’t know where to start with Almodóvar’s work, I recommend going in chronological order by watching some of his early films like Matador (1986), Law of Desire (1987), and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) first. Then, move on to his classics like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) and All About My Mother (1999). This will help in fully appreciating his later films which are very self-referential.
For example, Broken Embraces (2009) makes several references to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), including a film-within-a-film remake. Bad Education (2004) explores characters and themes presented in Law of Desire (1987). Volver (2006) came out of a story referenced in an earlier film, The Flower of My Secret (1995).
His most accessible film, I think, is Pain and Glory (2019). His most shocking—to me, at least—is The Skin I Live In (2011); mentally prepare yourself for that one! The most fun one is I'm So Excited (2013), a whacky musical that takes place on board an airplane.
And if you’re a classic movie fan, you’ll have a great time finding all the references to well-known classics including Metropolis (1927), Rear Window (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Casablanca (1942), All About Eve (1959), Psycho (1960), The Apartment (1960), and many more.
Many Pedro Almodóvar films are available to rent on DVD Netflix! Click the titles to add movies individually, or click the red button to browse all of his films.
Matador (1986)
Law of Desire (1987)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
The Flower of My Secret (1996)
All About My Mother (1999)
Talk to Her (2002)
Bad Education (2004)
Volver (2006)
Broken Embraces (2009)
The Skin I Live In (2011)
I’m So Excited (2013)
Julieta (2016)
Pain and Glory (2019)
Raquel Stecher has been writing about classic films for the past decade on her blog Out of the Past. She attends the TCM Classic Film Festival as well as other events where old movie fanatics get together to geek out. Raquel has been a devoted DVD Netflix member since 2002! Follow her on her blog Out of the Past or find her on Twitter @RaquelStecher and @ClassicFilmRead, Facebook, and Instagram.