Interconnected and overlapping stories abound as television actress Pepa (Carmen Maura) tries to get to the bottom of why long-term (married) lover Ivan (Fernando Guillén) has jilted her.
In true early Almodóvar style, the chaotic hysteria of the plot grows and grows with characters coming and going. Naive best-friend Candela (Maria Barranco) finds herself in hiding from the police, Ivan’s son Antonio Banderas turns up looking to rent the penthouse apartment – and that jug of drugged gazpacho is passed around to all and sundry.
With breathless abound, the farcical nature of the narrative is exhausting. Singularly paced, immense, irreverent fun to start with begins to flag as the gaudiness wears thin.
Nominated for the 1989 Oscar for best foreign language film.
Rating: 54%
Director: Pedro Almodóvar (Kika, High Heels)
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar (Kika, High Heels)
Main cast: Carmen Maura (Volver, The Women on the 6th Floor), Fernando Guillén (Otros días vendrán, Don Juan en los infiernos), Antonio Banderas (Pain & Glory, The Mask of Zorro)
An Opinion or Two 