tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post4637994591134311869..comments2024-03-17T10:11:46.952-04:00Comments on Film Experience Blog: Modern Maestros: Pedro AlmodóvarNATHANIEL Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-81047166042663437012010-10-08T19:22:22.055-04:002010-10-08T19:22:22.055-04:00I'd argue "Volver" is 'better th...I'd argue "Volver" is 'better than you remember'. Yes, it got a fair amount of critical acclaim, but it didn't pop up on any best of the decade lists, and not even all that many Top 10 lists back in 2006 (which was such a paltry field).<br /><br />AAMM and TTH are by now accepted and unchallenged masterpieces, but I don't think Volver is quite yet, and it should be. It was the second-greatest film of the aughts (...behind Talk to Her). (Don't tell me I'm biased - I am being entirely objective. How dare you call me 'obsessed'!)<br /><br />Otherwise, fabulous write-up as usual. I want more.Y Kant Goran Ritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03058411467996289416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-39524039705116722892010-10-08T16:42:54.134-04:002010-10-08T16:42:54.134-04:00Retread…No but he’s idiosyncratic: having films un...Retread…No but he’s idiosyncratic: having films unfold in unexpected ways and end in a neat package -- which is strange because the tragedy and melodrama are so extreme at times. I’m always anxious how he’ll untangle his characters’ webs./3rtfu11noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-88718396726176508092010-10-08T15:29:42.641-04:002010-10-08T15:29:42.641-04:00ABE -- i can only speak for myself here but i am a...ABE -- i can only speak for myself here but i am a HUGE almodovar fan and to me i couldn't quite connect to it because it seemed a bit like a retread. I'm still trying to pinpoint in what way but it felt a little more laborious and recycled to me than his other films.<br /><br />so i'm excited about the new one. It's probably not my cuppa (violence and vengeance) but i think it will be good for him to try one of those crazy detours he'll do on occasion. (I remember KIKA as pretty out there and TIE ME UP also felt like a detour at the time)NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-26337408306212364522010-10-08T14:57:34.680-04:002010-10-08T14:57:34.680-04:00Passion, love and obsession... Yep the three perfe...Passion, love and obsession... Yep the three perfect word to describe how I feel about Almodovar (my second favorite director just behind Buñuel)Fernando Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01910646761117970758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-3535758890125485822010-10-08T13:37:32.162-04:002010-10-08T13:37:32.162-04:00I don't understand why "Broken Embraces&q...I don't understand why "Broken Embraces" didn't get a warm reception - it was one of my top five films of last year.Movies with Abehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18131694123939904629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-25955005943696453412010-10-08T12:52:26.125-04:002010-10-08T12:52:26.125-04:00Cal -- wow. we disagree so much on this. He was in...Cal -- wow. we disagree so much on this. He was interesting right from the start. Law of Desire was the first masterpiece and Live Flesh is one of those solid films along with Broken Embraces that aren't close to top tier Almodóvar but are interesting in terms of where they fit into his overall oeuvre.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-22202623215504786742010-10-08T10:59:24.750-04:002010-10-08T10:59:24.750-04:00Don't believe this Mina project. No sequels, n...Don't believe this Mina project. No sequels, no biopics, no remakes. <br /><br />I love Almodóvar now, even he is not that great, like in Broken Embraces. <br /><br />He started with awfully bad movies, become interesting with Law of Desire and Matador, made a raw masterpiece with Tie me Up Tie me Down, but only became a great director when he made Live Flesh.cal rothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-2497320399443146322010-10-08T01:33:13.565-04:002010-10-08T01:33:13.565-04:00Your first paragraph is routinely the argument I r...Your first paragraph is routinely the argument I raise when people criticise that Best Foreign Language Film category. Yes, the branch make a fool of themselves, but there's a reason why the category so rarely features films that everyone has seen. It's because these days you have an international breakthrough and you move to America. Many of the foreign name directors that have remained, more or less, at home (Almodovar, Jeunet, Haneke, Audiard and several more niche names) rarely make the sort of films that the Academy like to honour now that the branch itself has morphed into something completely different to what it was 40 years ago when Kurosawa, Bergman and Fellini were seemingly winning the award in frequent succession.<br /><br />Almodovar is a genius, I am sure of it. <i>Bad Education</i> and <i>Volver</i> are the two titles that don't get enough love, I think, although my favourite is <i>All About My Mother</i>.Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08194113062830373898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-9661008519817098642010-10-08T01:11:24.168-04:002010-10-08T01:11:24.168-04:00Ahhh probably my favorite filmmaker alive too, I&#...Ahhh probably my favorite filmmaker alive too, I'd have to say Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Volver qualify for masterpiece status too if you ask me. Can we thank him for the gift of Gael Garcia Bernal being ridiculously hot in drag too?<br /><br />My mom is Peruvian so she LOVES movies in Spanish, and particularly Pedro's movies. We've seen Women on the Verge... so many times together. He's provided great family memories for us.<br /><br />I am intrigued by Mina as well and have heard about it for a while - I believe both Marisa Paredes and Penelope Cruz were both rumored for the part...perhaps different ages? I find it fascinating because I thought he never wanted to do a biopic. Would be fascinated to see his approach to one.Seeking Amynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-47566957569871530752010-10-08T01:07:56.000-04:002010-10-08T01:07:56.000-04:00Almodovar is the single foreign auteur I have any ...Almodovar is the single foreign auteur I have any reverential respect for. I love him. Like Tarantino and Verhoeven he’s a joy to bask in and too important to cinema. <br /><br />Better than you remember is his most recent shrugged off too easily Broken Embraces which features my personal favorite Penelope Cruz performance. I know she has many fans but I only liked her some but I actually fell in love with her during the course of the film. I wish she could’ve taken the Helen Mirren spot. <br /><br />I haven’t seen enough Almodovar – the first film I saw “Talk to Her” loved it – the second film “All About My Mother” best movie title by the way (if you love your mother that is) – the third “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down” I didn’t care for this film compared to the previous masterpieces I had seen. The fourth film “Volver” affected me deeply because I had lost two loved ones in the span of three months during the year of its release. What made the film so special was the surprise ending --- you never know with Pedro where exactly he’s leading us and where he lead us made the entire journey worth it. <br /><br />“Broken Embraces” is the most recent film and the last one I saw. I saw it like two weeks ago late like three in the morning. Stayed up for the whole thing --- the film only has one minor/major flaw --- the actor cast as the viewing impaired womanizing filmmaker --- he looks like Kelsey Grammer. It was very distracting because I have mixed feelings about Grammer and the character Pedro wrote isn’t very likeable and I prefer the protagonist to be either likeable or sympathetic but Almodovar never makes it cut and dry. The character’s handicap doesn’t make us automatically feel compassion for him. He’s a jerk who happens to be blind./3rtfu11noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-27668817037863413922010-10-08T00:17:18.890-04:002010-10-08T00:17:18.890-04:00I didn't even ask you to finish with my favori...I didn't even ask you to finish with my favorite living filmmaker but you did. I feel like this is a gift to me.<br /><br />BUT ROBERT WILL BE BACK. I just want everyone to know that. He's too good to let get away :)<br /><br />I hadn't heard about this Mina film but now i must consider it... and James T i'll keep your comment in mind when I do.<br /><br />Robert -- you're right that the Academy was weirdly cool on VOLVER apart from Cruz. I never understood that as it's better than most of the films than all of the films that were nominated for foreign film that year (and best picture for that matter!)NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-12753963154592753882010-10-07T23:10:53.382-04:002010-10-07T23:10:53.382-04:00I really hope the Mina film never becomes a realit...I really hope the Mina film never becomes a reality. I'm sorry I don't share the love for Cruz that everyone seems to have but I'd hate to see her portray Mina, who is so unique and mesmerizing, using her, for me, conventional charm and sexiness. <br /><br />And how on earth is she going to copy that divine spirit Mina possesed during her last live show?<br /><br />But this is your last write-up so I want to end on a positive note.<br />Well, quite simply, this series has been lovely!James Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16055933146552583102noreply@blogger.com