Gli amanti passeggeri

I ignored the reviews for this flick which were mostly unfavourable figuring that Almodovar is not everybody's cup of tea. On this occasion alas I have to agree. I'm assuming this is meant to be an out and out comedy (there was a fair amount of laughter in the cinema) but to me the material was over reliant on cheap, sensationalist blowjob and gay sex gags a kind of x rated Carry On film with none of the charm and simply not funny enough.

I figure that Almodovar fans like myself will watch this regardless of the poor reviews, as for those Almodovar virgins who may be contemplating popping their cherry avoid this and check out the great man's back catalogue.

This film is about the pilots, business class crew and business class passengers on a fateful flight to Mexico City.

"Los Amantes Pasajeros" tells a really funny story about eleven clichéd characters on a transatlantic flight. There is much alcohol, drugs, camp characters and of course lots of sex (both gay and straight). The plot is so hilarious that no one can take it seriously! Every business class passenger has a story, and a distinct personality. When they are trapped in the flight, literally hell breaks loose. I really like the three flight attendants, they are just so funny! When the plane was going to land, I could not believe it was already 90 minutes into the film - I thought it was just 30 minutes in! The journey was so hilarious that time just flew by at sonic speed.

"Los Amantes Pasajeros" is very unlike other Pedro Almodóvar films, in fact I don't even remember him making such a camp and fluffy comedy before! I really loved every minute of it.

A plane malfunctions and faced with possible imminent death, pilots, crew and passengers reveal their innermost secrets.

After having tranquilised the passengers of the economy class, crew members only have to deal with the few business class passengers and their eccentricities but it is the very gay cabin crew that are called to the rescue.

Unusual due to it s overly camp overtones, this one is a little gem. It is not often we face the inevitable with such fresh humour and intelligent satire. When close to dying it seems we do not care about having our innermost secrets revealed and Almodovar infuses humour with realism, in a masterly way as we have come to expect from him.

Much as I can see why some have rushed to label this as too overdone, I would disagree and it clearly showed that a heterosexual viewer can both enjoy and appreciate a mucho camp romp.

This movie is very funny, and yes, very light. Therefore, if you go to theater expecting another "Todo sobre mi madre", please be aware that you will be for sure highly disappointed - so maybe you should do something else. This is an "Airport" disaster movie, set in Almodovar's world and populated by his trademark characters. You can easily imagine the final outcome, don't you?

I found the result of this crossover wildly entertaining, and refreshing. But not silly: a couple of themes thrown in the story – the ones related to the supposed financial crimes of one of the characters - gave me the feeling that Almodovar is trying to say something even about the current situation of Spain and Europe (and the setting of the last scene, with all those empty interiors, that shameful waste of money, looks like a clear statement from the author about what should be actually called a "disaster" in nowadays world).

I am not Spanish: so maybe what I think about the relevance of Pedro Almodovar's work for Spanish culture could easily be wrong. Still, I am under the impression that you can hardly find in the whole world another artist that has so single-handedly influenced and changed the mindset of a country like this man has done for Spain in the last thirty years (and it's a long way, from "Marcelino pan y vino" to Agrado and his sisters). In my opinion, Spain has been made a better place, by the Almodovar revolution. God bless him.

The words surreal, strange, fantastical and bizarre have been associated with Pedro Almodovar's cinema along with longing, fragility, fluidity of gender, and the search for one's individual sexuality in a world filled with variations from the "norm." His 2011 movie THE SKIN I LIVE IN encompassed all those terms and I for one was deeply touched by that exceptionally idiosyncratic film. On the other hand, I'M SO EXCITED is Almodovar on his tiptoes – LIGHT and FROTHY. I do not deny that the movie made me laugh out loud, but it never made me ache with confusion and pain. It never touched me beneath the skin I live in.

The bouncy, brightly colored, whimsical, animated opening credits put a smile on the audiences' faces, setting the mood for the craziness that was to come. The movie bolts onto the screen with cameos by Airline workers, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, two of the finest actors in Almodovar's repertory. But their cameos are basically a "schtick" - an eccentric bit - with no relation to the rest of the movie, except as a sign that we are about to be launched on a wild ride.

We meet the flight attendants and passengers of Peninsula 2549 – an Airline like no other - bound from Spain to Mexico, and discover early on that there is trouble with the plane's landing gear which puts everyone at dire risk as the plane circles round and round looking for a place to land. How the crew and passengers deal with the end-of-life/ tying-up-loose- ends business goes to the heart of this comic allegory. Life goes on in the midst of probable death so everyone - actually everyone who is not in Economy Class (they are drugged and asleep) - lets loose and are plied with drinks, drugs and engage in sex – a feast of debauchery including gay and straight sex, anonymous and public couplings. We are privy to personal histories, infidelities, lies and scandals – humanity with all its human failings flung out like baggage for all to see and hear.

Three of the Flight attendants who are all gay, function as a Greek Chorus – commenting on the action, and entertaining the travelers with a wonderfully kinky and freaky rendition of the Pointer Sisters song "I Am So Excited." These flamboyant stewards are the focus of the movie – their struggles with morality, philosophical musings, religion, and libidinal urges make for a tender, extravagant burlesque. There is also a Cassandra-like character – a predictor of future doom that nobody wants to hear, because the underlying truths make everyone uncomfortable.

I love that Pedro Almodovar works on films that are unpredictable. He experiments with all kinds of genres – some are secret and intimate and others are open and "cosmic". I admire that he does what he wants and each movie is a challenge. Immediately after the movie ended, I felt that this comedy was both hilarious and often too obviously "over the top." On further reflection, I realized that what I had perceived as superficiality was a strongly structured jab at our human vulnerabilities – delivered with jest and generosity – all the better to grasp and hold you.