Womit habe ich das verdient?

Early Almodovar is something that always keeps me fascinated! He's absolutely free of all his refined technical skills (latest films) and a real "hooligan", provoking, and full of brilliant jokes. "What have I done to deserve this?" is one of my top-Almodovar films, due to magnificent acting of Carmen Maura but not only. Almodovar, not yet burdened by the reputation of "maestro" is extremely free in expression, he does everything what is allowed and "not allowed" to do in cinema. Terrific mixture of Italian neo-realism, (remember the last episode, when Carmen sees off her family and returns home..) marvelous sarcasm, parody on intellectual cinema, and a tart-like melodrama with too much sugar. This is called Almodovar, a genius who is not afraid to seem foolish and therefore never seems foolish. A genius of KITSCH!

Haven't seen this film yet? What a lucky one you are! Be prepared for unforgettable impressions. And finally: Highly recommended for those who enjoyed "VOLVER" (these two films have much in common)

Off-the-wall typical Spanish housewife (Carmen Maura , though Esperanza Roy and Concha Velasco turned down the role) is an lowly maid in Madrid , here she scrapes to get by and help her two useless sons , a young junkie called Javi and a gay boy who sleeps with men , living in a crowded as well as small apartment with her self-reliant grandma (Chus Lampreave) and Antonio (Angel Andres Lopez) , her sadist husband , a Taximan and also a forger who adores an aging German singer named Ingrid Muller (Katia Loritz) he used to chauffeur . One teen son is a druggie and sells dope , the other has rare hobbies and Gloria subsequently has given away in adoption . As her family situation goes from bad to worse , her travails inspire other people and befriends her next door prostitute named Crystal (Veronica Forque , though Angela Molina and Victoria Abril turned down the role , as the latter didn't want to play another whore , having just played one recently) . Gloria works as a maid , cleaning houses for bourgeois families (Gonzalo Suarez , Amparo Soler Leal) and craves a better life . Two alcoholic men cook up a scheme to sell a manuscript as Hitler's memoirs, if the taxi-driver will transcribe it in Hitler's hand . Antonio agrees, so they ask the German singer Muller (Katia Loritz) to play the character of the original owner since her past affinity for Nazi memorabilia makes her a likely candidate .

Agreeable film full of feeling , outlandish characters , haunting mood-pieces , Spanish Neo-realism , fun scenes, strange humor and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . The picture deals with drama , off-the-wall comedy , absurdities familiar , mad inversions , murder by Hambone and many other things ; featuring a feminist heroine of classical proportions . The picture is pretty well but turns out to be inferior to Almodovar's previous and subsequent entries . The result is undiluted scabrous comedy , profanities , perverted sex with short , sharp images and a crazy strings of plots . It's a piquant look at lower classes involving twists and an intrigue about the forging of Hitler's diaries and keeping a neighbour company during her bonking hour . Nice interpretations by all cast , as Carmen Maura as Gloria , mother of a dysfunctional family in Madrid , she is a cleaning lady , Maura playing very well her various trials and escapades , Angel De Andres Lopez as her surly husband cabby , Chus Lampreave as weird mother-in-law who picks up a pet lizard and keeps bottled water and cupcakes under lock and key . Furthermore , Kiti Manver , Gonzalo Suarez , Emilio Gutierrez Caba , Cecilia Roth , Veronica Forque , Javier Gurruchaga as a sex-crazed dentist and other delightfully played roles .

The motion picture was realized in his traditional style by Pedro Almodovar ; he often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular story lines . Almodovar directs throughout with splendid zip and he usually portrays strong female characters and transsexuals . His first feature film, Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980), was made in 16 mm and blown-up to 35 mm for public release. In 1987, he and his brother Agustín Almodóvar established their own production company: El Deseo, S. A. The "Almodóvar phenomenon" has reached all over the world, making his films very popular in many countries. Pedro subsequently made successes such as Labyrinth of passions , Law of desire , Women Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown , Bad education , All about my mother , Talk to her , Broken embraces , The Skin I Live In and many others .

I found myself wrapped up in this off-beat movie, off-beat that is, for anyone but Almodóvar in the mid 1980s. For him, this one was sort of tame. It's populated by an Almodovaran crowd of demimonde, and struggling proletarians and intellectuals. Some take drugs to get by, some sell drugs but won't take them. Sex is a commodity, and honor a dubious value. The struggle to survive in a harsh urban environment ought not be as comic as this often is, so it's not surprising when Almodóvar brings a little emotional sustenance to leaven the pessimism. But nobody in this film should be taken at face value, least of all the director, and nothing should be taken too seriously. It's fun, and in the end, that's enough.

One thing about Pedro Almodovar's films is that they are never boring. Another is that women do whatever they need to do to get by. This film is no different and it is almost as if he followed the theme here with Volver. In fact, the star of this film, Carmen Maura, is also in Volver.

Gloria (Carmen Maura) does whatever she needs to do to get by, whether it is popping No-Doze or sniffing glue. She works constantly to provide for her family, as her no-good husband (Ángel de Andrés López) is not pulling his weight.

One son sells dope and the other likes to have sex with his friend's fathers. Grandma (Chus Lampreave) sits around talking about the village.

Her best friend Cristal (Verónica Forqué - Matador) is a prostitute.

Almodovar presents an upside down world where everything is exaggerated. This is a thinking man's movie. You really have to pay attention to get it. That is not to say it is not enjoyable, but you miss a lot by not fully participating.

You notice that Cristal is a lot more mentally healthy that Gloris; that her son is not a victim, but in charge of his sexuality; and there is enough other things going on to really keep you interest.

Almodovar is never boring.

I loved this. It isn't so great compared to later projects where he knows how to use knives instead of chalk. And he decides to understand women, instead of understanding their luggage.

But this is better in a way because you can see the man, what a friend calls the exposed plumbing of what later would become a polished structure.

Stories in Almodovar's soul, that wonderful soul, appear first as images that only after they crack their shells into the fluttering wind of sight do they loose into their narrative trajectory. Sight first, then narrative. But because the narrative comes directly from the cinematic, it flows with an unusual naturalness. It drives into complexities, even emotion depths. It becomes surreal in places, but it all seems natural because it flows from the image within.

And that gives us another advantage. Nearly all films about love and women begin all their major strokes from the written or spoken word and the situations that grow out of them. That means in film that we are stuck with a limited vocabulary and set of patterns that not only dull with repetition, but aren't cinematic at root.

Even in this early film, you can see that because these eyesweets were never touched by pen, they are all fresh without leaving what we accept as true. Its quite an achievement.

The standout performance? A ten year old redhead with "powers," and around whom everything happens. She may be the cause.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.