Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown – A Review
‘Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown’ is a Spanish film directed by Pedro Almodovar , starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Bendaras . This film was filmed in 1988 and was close to winning an Oscar for best foreign language film. Its actual title is “un ataque de nervios" which can be literally translated into the English title as given above.
The film is about Pepa Marcos, a TV actress, who is depressed because her boyfriend Ivan has recently left her for another woman. Finding out that she is pregnant adds to her misery, which she deals with by taking pills. She desperately tries to get in touch with her ex-lover, but fails to do so. To make matters worse her friend Candela finds herself in an unpleasant situation and seeks help from Pepa. Candela has found herself in a romantic adventure with a couple of fugitives, whom she was kind enough to shelter; thus becoming an accomplice herself. Through a series of unlikely events Pepa finds herself face to face with Carlos and his fiancee, the son of Ivan and his ex-wife Lucia. It is quite surprising to see that Pepa takes an immediate liking towards Carlos, and treats him like her own son. The entrance of a crazy ex-wife named Lucia, further strengthens the plot, making it more complex. Lucia’s story is that she has run away from a mental institute by fooling them into believing that she is in fact sane. She is haunted by memories of Ivan leaving her for Pepa, which drives her to gain vengeance on him by killing him. There begins a wild goose chase, where Lucia chases after Ivan and Pepa chases Lucia to stop her from killing Ivan. In this way, Almodovar weaves a story that confuses but also amuses the audience. There were many aspects of this film that I greatly enjoyed.
One of the things I loved about this film was the way in which the story was carefully and intricately woven. The story unfolded with the addition of each new character. Every character
‘Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown’ is a Spanish film directed by Pedro Almodovar , starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Bendaras . This film was filmed in 1988 and was close to winning an Oscar for best foreign language film. Its actual title is “un ataque de nervios" which can be literally translated into the English title as given above.
The film is about Pepa Marcos, a TV actress, who is depressed because her boyfriend Ivan has recently left her for another woman. Finding out that she is pregnant adds to her misery, which she deals with by taking pills. She desperately tries to get in touch with her ex-lover, but fails to do so. To make matters worse her friend Candela finds herself in an unpleasant situation and seeks help from Pepa. Candela has found herself in a romantic adventure with a couple of fugitives, whom she was kind enough to shelter; thus becoming an accomplice herself. Through a series of unlikely events Pepa finds herself face to face with Carlos and his fiancee, the son of Ivan and his ex-wife Lucia. It is quite surprising to see that Pepa takes an immediate liking towards Carlos, and treats him like her own son. The entrance of a crazy ex-wife named Lucia, further strengthens the plot, making it more complex. Lucia’s story is that she has run away from a mental institute by fooling them into believing that she is in fact sane. She is haunted by memories of Ivan leaving her for Pepa, which drives her to gain vengeance on him by killing him. There begins a wild goose chase, where Lucia chases after Ivan and Pepa chases Lucia to stop her from killing Ivan. In this way, Almodovar weaves a story that confuses but also amuses the audience. There were many aspects of this film that I greatly enjoyed.
One of the things I loved about this film was the way in which the story was carefully and intricately woven. The story unfolded with the addition of each new character. Every character