Pedro Almodovar

Pedro Almodóvar (b. September 25, 1951) is a Spanish film director.

He was born in Calzada de Calatrava[?], La Mancha[?] and grew up in Extremadura. At the age of sixteen he moved to Madrid, he worked in a number of jobs before settling down for twelve years at Telefónica. His first commerical film was shown in 1980 although he had been making short Super 8 or 16 mm films since 1972, Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón had been shot over eighteen months. He writes and directs most of his film and has also acted and produced.

Almodovar is best known for his use of melodrama, improbable circumstances and high camp in his movies. However a theme that recurs in his work is the connections and/or the desire to connect with others. His characters, in all their many forms, are attempting to 'come home', find safety, fulfillment and love with those around them to dispel an almost universal loneliness. Through his use of marginal (intellectually, socially, etc.) characters Almodovar is able to take the search for fulfillment to extremes that mainstream society is unable. He is not advocating that, as with Banderas in Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down! we kidnap and seduce the object of our affections, merely that the urge to be with someone is strong enough to merit drastic action.

Filmography

• Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón[?] (Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap, 1980)
• Laberinto de pasiones[?] (Labyrinth of passion, 1982)
• Entre tinieblas[?] (Dark Habits, 1983)
• ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?[?] (What have I done to deserve this?, 1985)
• Matador (1986)
• La Ley del deseo[?] (The Law of Desire, 1986)
• Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios[?] (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, 1987)
• ¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, 1989)
• Tacones lejanos[?] (High Heels, 1991)
• Kika[?] (1993)
• La Flor de mi secreto[?] (The Flower of My Secret, 1995)
• Carne trémula[?] (Live Flesh, 1997)
• Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother, 1998)
• Hable con ella[?] (Talk to Her, 2001)