Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Pedro Almodóvar's ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? (1984)

Pedro Almodóvar's ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? / What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984) is as wacky and incisive as anything else I can think of. Almodóvar gets at people's underlying realities -- the ways in which people may feel trapped, left out, bummed out, desirous of something beyond the status quo, or aiming for escape. Aspirations for greater freedom and autonomy abound; sometimes they even suddenly and unexpectedly come to be realized.  
Mother and son -- apple, tree. Chus Lampreave's character (on left) is particularly funny in her "ways."
Is sisterhood powerful? Wait and see. Here, Verónica Forqué as Cristal and Carmen Maura as Gloria. 
If you have yet to check out a Pedro Almodóvar movie, ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? may be a good second one to see. (Note: There are "risqué elements" peppered throughout the film). You may first want to give this one a try: Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios / Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). Oh, yes.

Today's Rune: Journey. 

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I've heard of women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Didn't know much about it.

jodi said...

Erik-Pedro made a movie without Penelope? I think he's crushin' on her!