When Marco asks Lidia her name, he says something like, "It looks you've been predestined to it." That's because bullfighting is also known as "art of lidi."
The bulls' bloodiness in the film is real. An ecological group in Madrid tried to sue Pedro Almodóvar for ill treatment of animals -- not attacking him per se, but society for accepting it. Almodóvar said that he had the permission of the bulls' owners to kill them and that the ecological group was just trying to gain some publicity.
The only film to be Oscar nominated for Best Director, but not Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2003.
After Marco moves in to Benigno's apartment there is a moment when a book is seen on the nightstand by the bed. That book is Las Horas by Michael Cunningham. This is a Spanish translation of The Hours, which was made into the 2002 movie of the same name. Both The Hours (2002) and Hable con ella were nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards in 2003.
Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#07)
Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes: frequent Pedro Almodóvar actors appear briefly when Caetano Veloso is singing.
Agustín Almodóvar: the priest conducting the wedding is the producer of the film (and the director's brother).