Sergio Pedro Modern Languages & Literatures (Spanish)spedro@ithaca.edu

The Film Itself -the artists -the film’s reception

Spain -Linguistic Determinism, identity & borders -Spanish history—a divided Spain -Almodóvar & Spain

The Film as Art -drama & parody -gender roles, symbolism

· La corte de Faraón (1985) as Fray José · Réquiem por un campesino español

(1985) as Paco · Los zancos (1984) as Alberto · Fragmentos de interior (1984) TV Series

as Joaquín · El señor Galíndez (1984) as Eduardo · El caso Almería (1984) · Laberinto de pasiones (Labyrinth of

Passion) (1982) as Sadec · Pestañas postizas (1982) as Antonio Juan

· La Mujer de tu vida: La mujer feliz (1988) (TV) as Antonio

· Así como habían sido (1987) as Damián · La ley del deseo (Law of Desire) (1987) as

Antonio Benítez · Delirios de amor (1986) · 27 horas (1986) as Rafa · Puzzle (1986) · Matador (1986) as Ángel · Caso cerrado (1985) as Preso

· El Acto (1989) as Carlos · Huesta Luego Tenis (1989) as Jake Spicer · La Blanca Paloma (1989) as Mario · Si te dicen que caí (If They Tell You I Fell)

(1989) as Marcos · Bajarse al moro (1989) as Alberto · Bâton Rouge (1988) as Antonio · El placer de matar (The Pleasure of Killing)

(1988) as Luis · Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios

(Women on the Verge…)

1970’s Los ojos vendados (Carlos Saura)1980’s Folle... folle... fólleme Tim! (Pedro Almodóvar

) Pepi, Luci, Bom (Pedro Almodóvar) Dark Habits (Pedro Almodóvar). What Have I Done to Deserve This? (

Pedro Almodóvar). Matador (Pe Women on the Verge… (Pedro Almodóvar). Bâton Rouge (Rafael Moleón).

¡Ay, Carmela! (Carlos Saura). (Goya Award).

How to Be a Woman and Not Die in the Attempt (Ana Belén).

Sombras en una batalla (Mario Camus). (Goya Award Nominated).

Amores que matan (Juan Manuel Chumilla).

Lisboa (Antonio Hernández).

La comunidad (Alex de la Iglesia)(Goya Award)

Entre vivir y soñar (David Albacente and Alfonso Menkes)

Free Zone (Amos Gitai). With Natalie Portman.

Volver (Pedro Almodóvar) El menor de los males (

Antonio Hernández) The Garden of Eden (John Irvin) Tetro (Francis Ford Coppola)

Script & Direction

Small town boy, born in1949 in La Mancha, Spain

“Educated” by the catholic church in the 1950’s (Bad Education)

Experiments with film in the mid1970s (La Movida alternative film movement)

Artistic influences include Alfred Hitchcock, Andy Warhol, John Waters & Douglas Sirk

· Los abrazos rotos (2009) "Broken Embraces“/"Broken Hugs"

· La concejala antropófaga (2009) "The Cannibalistic Councilor"

· Volver (2006) "To Return" · La mala educación (2004) "Bad Education"

· Hable con ella (2002) "Talk to Her" · Todo sobre mi madre (1999) "All About My Mother" –wins OSCAR

· Carne trémula (1997) "Live Flesh" / "Trembling Flesh"

· La flor de mi secreto (1995) "The Flower of My Secret"

· Kika (1993) · Tacones lejanos (1991) "High Heels" · ¡Átame! (1990) "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!"

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988) -"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"

La ley del deseo (1987) "Law of Desire" Matador (1986) ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!!

(1984) "What Have I Done to Deserve This?“ Entre tinieblas (1983) Laberinto de pasiones (1982) "Labyrinth of

Passion” Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón

(1980) -"Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom"

Academy Awards, USA 1989 Nominated Oscar Best Foreign

Language Film

  BAFTA Awards (British Academy)1990 Nominated Best Film not in the

English Language

Golden Globe Awards (USA) ◦Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film

David di Donatello Awards (Italy) ◦Won: Best Foreign Direction (Pedro

Almodóvar)

European Film Awards ◦Won: Best Actress – Leading Role

(Carmen Maura)◦Won: Best Young Film (Pedro Almodóvar)◦Nominated: Best Art Direction (Félix

Murcia)

Goya Awards (Spain) Won: Best Actress – Leading Role

(Carmen Maura) Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role

(María Barranco as Candela) Won: Best Editing (José Salcedo) Won: Best Film Won: Best Screenplay - Original (Pedro

Almodóvar)

National Board of Review (USA) ◦Won: Best Foreign Language Film

New York Film Critics (USA) ◦Won: Best Foreign Language Film

Venice Film Festival (Italy) ◦Won: Golden Osella – Best Screenplay

(Pedro Almodóvar)

Linguistic Relativism (one version)

Each language draws a magic circle around the people to whom it belongs, a circle from which there is no escape save by escaping from it into another.

(Wilhelm von Humboldt)

“Reconquest” (711-1492) Map of Medieval Spain

Spanish Inquisition (1484 +) Torquemada

Carlistas & Republicans Carlista Banner

Spanish Civil War Civil War

Post – Franco Spain Franco

Poor reception among Spanish conservatives

-Subversion of (sexual) identity

-Parody of Christian (usually Catholic) ideas

Some poor reception from the left

-“frivolous” themes, politically not committed (70’s & 80’s)

-falls prey to “imperialistic” (AND non-Spanish) American influence

More poor reception from the left

criticism from Spain’s gay movement

“obsessive concern with the fluidity of genders, the interchangeability of sexual tastes and orientations”

(Stephen Marsh, U.S.C.)

“Almodóvar has gone out of his way to disavow the suggestion that he is a gay filmmaker (rather than a filmmaker who just happens to be gay)”

(Stephen Marsh)

His Positive Reception

-His American influences do not hail from commercial Hollywood, but rather from underground & alternative currents.

-His influences do include Spanish filmmakers. He has verbally acknowledged a few of these:

Edgar Neville, Miguel Mihura, Enrique Jardiel Poncela, Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, Luis García Berlanga and Fernando Fernán Gómez

Archetypal images (distressed woman, Don Juan, the virgin)

Use of colorThe telephone & the note as symbols: distance, of non-communication

-Intertextuality with Johnny Guitar (Spanish dubbing work of Pepa & Iván)

The transformation of Pepa

Empowerment—scene at the end of the film

(the UN-end)

-The parody- Parody as Subversion of traditional images (gender & otherwise)

Parody as exaggeration Parody as plasticity—theatricality as emotional barrier (First dream image, last song “Teatro, lo tuyo es puro teatro”)

Critics have said that Almodóvar defies discourse

..connection to language, thought, & the significance of artistic mediums

Is it important that Almodóvar is Spanish? Is there something here that does not “translate” for an American audience?

What is gender? How is it important for the film?

How is parody manifested in the film? What tricks does Almodóvar use?

Why doesn’t the emotional impact carry its full weight for the audience?