Pedro Almodovar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Almodovar
is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish
filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ
the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture,
popular songs, irreverent humor, strong colors, glossy décor and LGBT
themes. Desire, passion, family and identity are among Almodóvar’s most
prevalent themes. His films enjoy a worldwide following and he has become a
major figure on the stage of world cinema.
Filmography
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Year
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English title
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Original title
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1999
|
Todo Sobre Mi Madre
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|
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2002
|
Hable Con Ella
|
|
|
2004
|
La Mala Educación
|
|
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2006
|
Volver
|
|
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2009
|
Los Abrazos Rotos
|
|
|
2011
|
La piel que habito
|
Spain
under Franco’s reign
The consistent points in Francoism included above all authoritarianism,
nationalism and anti-Freemasonry; some authors also quote integralism. All
in all, Francoism showed a frontal rejection of Communism, Socialism and Anarchism.
Although Franco and Spain under his rule adopted some trappings of fascism, he,
and Spain under his rule, are not generally considered to be fascist; among the
distinctions, fascism entails a revolutionary aim to transform society, where
Franco and Franco's Spain did not seek to do so, and, to the contrary, although
authoritarian, were conservative and traditional.
Against his parents' wishes, Pedro Almodovar moved to Madrid
in 1967. His goal was to be a film director, but he lacked the economic means
to do it and besides, Franco had just closed the National School of Cinema so
he would be completely self-taught. Madrid’s flourishing alternative cultural
scene became the perfect scenario for Almodóvar's social talents. He was a
crucial figure in La Movida Madrileña (Madriliene Movement), a cultural
renaissance that followed the fall of the Franco regime. Alongside Fabio
McNamara, Almodovar sang in a glam rock parody duo.
Live Flesh
Live Flesh
explores love, loss, and suffering with a sober restraint only briefly glimpsed
in the director's earlier work. The film tells the story of several characters
implicated in each other's fates in ways that are beyond their control. Live Flesh is historically framed
from 1970, when Franco declared a state of emergency, to 1996, when Spain had
completely shaken off the restrictions of the Franco regime. With this film
Almodovar started his collaboration with Penélope Cruz.
Labyrinth of Passions
The film is an outrageous look at love and sex, framed in
Madrid of the early 1980s, during the so called Movida madrileña, a period of
sexual adventurousness between the dissolution of Franco's authoritarian regime
and the onset of AIDS consciousness. Labyrinth
of Passions caught the spirit of liberation which then ruled in Madrid
and it became a cult film.
