Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most famous Spanish filmmakers in the world. His movies have a special melodramatic touch, finery that allows you to immediately recognize it’s an Almodóvar film. In his movies, he uses as the main story the lives of marginalized groups: whores, trans women, junkies, etc.
Women are usually the center of the stories. Lifes of mothers, daughters, friends. The talent of these actresses has made them the faces of Almodóvar’s films, creating the concept of an Almodóvar girl a very desired position in the cinematic industry.
What does it mean to be an Almodóvar girl?
1. It doesn’t mean to be a good girl. An Almodóvar girl is not an example to follow. It is more like an anti-example girl. She has her fears and desires which are usually defined by being very concrete and strong. They obey the rules of passion, not reason (especially in the first Almodóvar films).
2. Their natural habitat is the streets. They dress as pop and punky stars. In Almodóvar’s movies, there are no more good girls from the sixties.
3. An Almodóvar girl is not the pretty type. They are not special because of their elegance or intelligence. They are special because they are original, passionate, stubborn. They are attractive because they are free in spirit and mind. No cinematographic producer has ever taken the time to make women in their movies so radically wild and free.
4. Almodóvar’s girls broke the tabús that haven’t been considered in the post-dictatorial times. They are powerful. They control their bodies even though they usually suffer extremely because of love.
5. Almodóvar’s girls are street smart, honest, cunning, tender, free, with moral autonomy. They inspired many women of the eighties and they created a tendency in Spain. They inspired attitudes, outfits, and stories.
Almodóvar’s girls
These are the most popular Almodóvar’s girls:
- Carmen Maura
- Julieta Serrano
- Aitana Sánchez- Guijón
- Verónica Forqué
- Victoria Abril
- Cecilia Roth
- Carmen Machi
- Marisa Paredes
- Loles León
- María Barranco
- Penélope Cruz
- Rossy de Palma
Almodóvar’s movies
Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980)
Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
Dark Habits (1983)
What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)
Matador (1986)
Law of Desire (1987)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
High Heels (1991)
Kika (1993)
The Flower of My Secret (1995)
Live Flesh (1997)
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)
Parallel mothers (2021)
