1997 - LIVE FLESH, an erotic thriller that's actually erotic for a change

Keeping in mind most of these erotic film thrillers that show up on various streaming platforms aren't particularly erotic, Live Flesh is one of the few films in this genre that actually manages to mix eroticism and sex with an interesting story for a change.

The film is basically about the interactions of five characters, a paralyzed former police detective, his wife, his former partner, the partner's wife and the man who was responsible for the bullet that paralyzed the police detective.  The film involves their relationships and interactions from the the time the detective was shot to the present and the consequences of that act.

 

The direction by Almodovar is about as good as you are ever going to see it. His skill with the actors, the camerawork and locations really elevate what is usually a tawdry and mediocre genre of film making into something good .

To reveal more about this film would spoil it.  The film was written by Almodovar and the running time is 103 minutes.

2004 - BAD EDUCATION, melodrama from Almodovar

 The Spanish director Almodovar wrote and directed a soap opera like melodrama about two friends from school who are reunited years later.  One of the friends is a successful film director the other is an actor.  This film is not unlike something Douglas Sirk would have made at Universal in the late 50's or early 60's.  The difference here is that almost every character in the cast is gay.

There's child abuse by priests, transvestism, transsexualism and just lot's of gay stuff going on in this film.  The characters are not exactly sympathetic but they are interesting. 

I have not seen a lot of Almodovar's films but I have seen enough to know that he is a very skilled director.  If you ignore the gay element of the story in a lot of ways it's pretty standard stuff.  However Almodovar is an extremely gifted filmmaker and his talent kept me watching mostly to see how this story would resolve itself. 

Worth a look however there is a whole lot of gay stuff going on.

105 minutes.

2006 - VOLVER or "To Come Back" is a very satisfiying chick flick for a change.

The difference between chick flicks coming out of Hollywood and chick flicks coming out of Spain is really apparent in Volver.  It helps to have a good director like Pedro Almodovar calling the shots, instead of some Hollywood hack.  It also helps to have a very interesting story and good actors.

Penelope Cruz is the lead and she actually gives a performance for a change instead of walking around  sticking her chest out.  Carmen Maura who I haven't seen since Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown shows up as Cruz's mother or ghost of her mother. But the entire female cast is quite good. 

Considering what could have been some seriously out of control melodrama in this story, Volver is a pretty impressive piece of film making from a very good director.

A quality film.

121 minutes.