Pedro Almodovar Auteur

A film that I found to be interesting and entertaining was Volver (2006) by Pedro Almodovar. Almodovar is a director that received acclimates of being a very distinct auteur very early in his career. Almodovar’s style and influences are prominent all throughout Volver. I will be discussing Volver and how it has become a typical icon film of Almodovar’s work. Many of Almodovar’s film are reflective of his upbringing. Almodovar said, “You can say my films are melodramas, tragicomedies, comedies or whatever because I used to put everything together and even change genre within the same sequence and very quickly” (Kinder 37). Typically his films have very distinct aspects in them that vary and is what makes an Almodovar film. Almodovar films are very distinct and they are commonly talked about as being “typical Almodovar films” because his themes are expected and are always true to his style. Almodovar started off his career in 1974 he is one of the most successful and internationally now Spanish filmmaker. His films are filled with complex narratives and a very melodramatic. Almodovar typically uses popular culture and popular songs throughout his film. In addition, Almodovar’s films are marked with humor even when it is unexpected. Some of the themes that Almodovar uses are desire, passion, family, family issues, extremes, identity, and sex. One distinct theme of Almodovar’s films is that he was very influenced by old Hollywood movies. One way that this is very apparent is that Almodovar typically center the plot of the film on a central female character in most of his films, typically a very troubled female. Furthermore Almodovar’s experiences as he was growing up have played a large role in most of his films. Almodovar films are constantly filled with issues of sexuality and he is not afraid to break into the world of the sexually promiscuous. One of the reasons that I feel that Almodovar is as open with sexuality is because Almodovar is a gay man. Almodovar’s

Cited: Kinder, Marsha. "Pleasure and the New Spanish Mentality: A conversation with Pedro Almodovar." Film Quarterly (1987): 33-44. Vernon, Kathleen M. "Pedro Almodovar 's "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" ." Film Quarterly (1993): 28-40. Zecchi, Barbara. "All About Mothers: Pronatalist Discourses in Contemporary Spanish Cinema." College Literature (2005): 146-164.