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Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
1985
This colorful hit put director Pedro Almodovar on the international map and cemented the reputation of its star, Carmen Maura. The film is a peppy little soap bubble as TV actress Pepa (Maura) wakes up to find a note from her lover, Ivan (Fernando Guillen), informing her he is leaving. Desperate to tell him some important .. Read more
| Starring | Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Maria Barranco |
|---|---|
| Director | Pedro Almodovar |
| Genres | Comedy, World Cinema |
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Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
This colorful hit put director Pedro Almodovar on the international map and cemented the reputation of its star, Carmen Maura. The film is a peppy little soap bubble as TV actress Pepa (Maura) wakes up to find a note from her lover, Ivan (Fernando Guillen), informing her he is leaving. Desperate to tell him some important information, Pepa almost kills herself with sleeping pills, burns her bed, and spends most of the movie trying to track him down. Her adventures put her in contact with Ivan's insane ex-wife (Julieta Serrano), his handsome son (Antonio Banderas), and the son's fiancee (Rossy de Palma). They all descend on her penthouse apartment in a deliriously comic extended scene, complicated by a pitcher full of narcotic gazpacho and her friend Candela (Maria Barranco), a ditzy beauty wanted by the police for associating with Shiite terrorists. Through it all, the indefatigable Pepa fights gallantly against her crushing heartbreak. As a testament to the resilient beauty of women, this free-spirited film rings true and is a treasure. Also appearing are Chus Lampreave, Kiti Manver, Yayo Calvo, and Guillermo Montesinos as the hilarious driver of the Mambo Taxi.
| Starring | Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Maria Barranco, Fernando Guillen |
|---|---|
| Director | Pedro Almodovar |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 25 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Spanish |
| Dubbed | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English, German |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 01 Dec 2003 Production year: 1985 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This classic comedy of treachery, lust and drugged gazpacho, is the glorious summation of the themes and visual devices of Pedro Almodóvar's early career. The pace is unrelenting, as actress Carmen Maura tries to cope with the emotional and human fallout after she is dumped by her married lover. Immaculately designed and edited, and deliciously filmed in a riot of colour by José Luis Alcaine, this is art house at its most accessible. It seems almost unfair to select key moments from such a bewilderingly busy and uproariously funny film, but the sight of Julieta Serrano speeding along on a motorbike will stay with you for ever.
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To attempt a synopsis of this extravagantly stylish farce would be daft and forgettable: suffice it to say that a lot... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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27 out of 28 people found this review helpful
Fun movie
Fun movie, but maybe not Almodovar's best. (See "Talk To Her" or "All About My Mother" for the director at the top of his form.)
By the way, if you prefer subtitles to dubbing, this DVD offers both and you can choose which you want. Don't be put off by the 'Dubbed' label in the description. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Toxic Gazpacho-tastic
Almodovar is pretty consistently wonderful so it will come as no surprise to learn that this film is a crazily genius mix of humour, despair, hope and insight. If you need a quick, surrealist reminder of why it's good to be human despite the pain then grab yourself a glass of Gazpacho and stick this on.
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News and features
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Vote for Pedro!
Almodovar’s Brilliant Career- 25 Aug 2009
The name of Pedro Almodóvar’s production company is El Deseo: Desire films. It’s a quality much in evidence in the vividly carnal, erotic, outrageous and anguished melodramas in which he specializes. Desire – a word that contains lust, love, venality, revenge and ambition – propels his characters as they careen from crisis to crisis, which must be why Almodovar’s heroes and (more often) heroines are almost always in a state of heightened agitation. If we had an... Read more
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