La flor de mi secreto

"The Flower of My Secret" is an unusual film by the controversial Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. So often, the man seems to go out of his way to shock and offend the viewer. Yet, oddly, this is an amazingly 'normal' film and it lacks the shock value of films such as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", "The Skin I live In" or "All About My Father". This is NOT a complaint--and it does make the film more palatable for the average viewer. However, it's also a film that only mildly piqued my interest and might disappoint his die- hard fans.

Leo (Marisa Paredes) is a middle-aged woman with a secret--what exactly that is you'll need to find out for yourself. She also has a marriage that is on the rocks. Her husband is a UN peace-keeper and seems to use this as an excuse not to return home. They are very distant--and some of this might be due to Leo's very volatile personality and drinking. Where exactly all this goes, I'd rather you just watch the film as I don't want to divulge exactly what happens.

While the film is well-crafted and acted, it's also woefully incomplete. The ending, I can almost guarantee, will leave you a bit unsatisfied as it seems a bit vague. But the film is an interesting character study and it's worth seeing just for that. Plus, I could see a group of friends or a couple watching this one and then talking about the many issues it raises.

Having seen most of Almodovar films, I have to say I prefer his more hilarious, comical, absurd ones. High heels, Talk to her are two other examples of Almodovar doing almost straightforward "drama" - though not the usual drama fare.

That said, this touched me a lot. Without excluding some typically unusual -hillariously funny- Almodovar dialogues and "usual suspects", this film is about pasiion, lust, bitterness, disappointment, joy. It is, after all, about life. Acting of the lead actress is top notch, it's human as far as it goes. No silly plot tricks, no deus ex machina, this is not another sorry a$$ American drama with easy solutions or a bright happy end.

Almodovar is one of the greatest artists of film!

Flor is one of Pedro's understated best. The incomparable Marisa Paredes gives this film its ultimate power. Her extraordinary face details every nuance of the loss of her marriage--"abandonment," as Sr. Almodovar labels it. The rich flamenco scenes reframe the passion and pain Marisa's character moves through during the film. And as nearly always, Sr. A. pays homage here to other works that have informed his vision--a barrage of brilliant and troubled women writers (Djuna Barnes, Dorothy Parker, Carson McCullers, et al.), and "Casablanca" and "Rich and Famous," for instance. I thank God for Pedro. Without him, life would be as the lyrics of the Bola de Nieve song in this film--"no me dejes vivir."

The title of Almodovar's later film, All About My Mother, was a nod of respect in the direction of the 1950 Hollywood film, All About Eve, which contains Bette Davis's famous line - "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night". This quote could well appear at the start of most of the Spanish director's films, certainly Flower. Here, the rider on his emotional rollercoaster is Leocadia (Leo) Macias (Marisa Paredes), whose marriage and life are in crisis. She is not as young as she was, and her handsome husband Paco (Imanol Arias) has lost interest and is about to leave her. The "secret" of the title is that Leo writes romantic novels under an assumed name, but hers is not the only secret revealed in the movie.

Spoiled and self-centred Leo is not the most likeable of women; her sister Rosa (the wonderful Rossy de Palma) who looks after their aged mother probably deserves more of our sympathy. But the nicest people don't necessarily provide the most interesting stories; and Almodovar isn't trying to enlist our pity, but our understanding. If, according to the oft-quoted screenplay dictum, character is defined by action, then what he shows us is a courageous character who overcomes her self-pity, and takes up life and love again. Leo comes to terms with her loss, in much the same way as the mother in film's opening scene finally accepts that her son is dead. But that episode turns out to be a repeatable training session for doctors, so perhaps Almodovar is warning Leo that loss of love can take place more than once, or possibly he is suggesting to the audience that they regard Leo's story as a training session for life.

This unashamed melodrama is conveyed via magical acting, great camerawork, and above all intense colours. There are a few specifically Spanish touches, including a sequence where Leo and her mother return to their idyllic, picturesque family village, and a flamenco dance (to Miles Davis music). As usual, there are also reminders of the downsides of modern urban life, though some of the references to drugs and unemployment are a little forced and superfluous. All in all, this is a great pictorial story teller telling perhaps not his greatest tale, but certainly one worth listening to and seeing.

Only Pedro Almodovar can do a melodrama that crosses genres like this film. In one sense, this is a film that you would expect to see on Lifetime.

Marisa Paredes (All About My Mother, Life is Beautiful) is nothing less than outstanding a a writer that is going through a crisis with a husband (Imanol Arias) that does not love her anymore. There is, of course, a crisis with her mother (Chus Lampreave - Volver) at the same time. Then, she finds out that it is her best friend that is having an affair with her husband, and there are profession problems at the same time. Sounds just like a Lifetime movie, doesn't it? But, Almodovar manages to give us a great story with his twists. Laughs are generous as comedic situations occur throughout. It's like wanting to laugh at something at a funeral. It happens, and we just have to deal with it.

Juan Echanove (who supposedly gave a great performance in Alatriste, the film that I have been waiting for release theatrically, or on DVD) is superb as Ángel, the newspaper editor who fulfills a dream to write romance novels. and who is in love with Leo (Parades).

It is just another great film from Almodovar that defies a description that would ever do it justice. Only experiencing his films can ever be pleasure.