KALTBLUT-HONK! 03 The Divas

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Well, well… speaking about divas. If I ask you to think about
the biggest European diva alive I bet you might say Sophia
Loren or Catherine Deneuve or even Penélope Cruz. But the
truth is you would be forgetting one of the biggest (probably
the biggest). And that one would be a man… yes! After Valentino
or Karl Lagerfeld (but they don’t work in the cinema
industry so I won’t say what I think about them which is not
exactly good.) the biggest diva in this so called “Old Continent”
is Mr. Pedro Almodóvar.
Mr. Almodóvar is as difficult as talented. I had the
chance to meet him in person some years ago and
believe me if I say that for a moment it was like talking
to Liza Minelli and Bette Davis at the same time.
You could see how this kind of people don’t live in this
real universe anymore. He’s gifted but very difficult to
deal with. In Spain are quite well known his catfights
with some of the actresses he worked with or how he
decided to bring down a whole set that took weeks or
months to build and cost a million because he didn’t
like some little parts. But he is Mr. Almodóvar and he
is also his own producer, together with his brother, so
problem solved. They lead „El Deseo Producciones“
which is one of the most important production companies
in Spain.
As you can see I’m definitely not his number one fan
but I have to say I don’t hate him either. To some people
(specially in America) who think he’s just God and
they just buy whatever he is doing. I think there are
better directors here down the Pyrenees, like Alejandro
Amenábar or Daniel Monzón but at least you must go
to see his films because he has always something new
to show, then it is up to you if you buy it or not.
When do I buy it? Well, that’s easy. When he becomes
the huge diva he is and explore the female universe.
Sometimes he can touch perfection. But when he decides
to explore some other horizons he use to lose his
touch. It’s funny! He is a man but when he dives into
the male perspective and the main character is a man
in the movie. Then the worst Almodóvar comes out.
That’s specially clear in his last film “Broken Embraces”
(2009), (to me one of his worst films, where only
Penélope Cruz saves the show… as usual). Two other
examples could be “Bad Education” (2004) and “Live
Flesh” (1997), a film I really loathe partly because of
the presence of Liberto Rabal, one of the most boring
actors ever.
After all I said I wouldn’t be to anxious about his next
film, again with a male character leading the show. But
this time I’m more than curious. First because Antonio
Banderas is back to work with Almodóvar after many
years and it’s also good to see him acting in Spanish
again. If you read my first article back in issue number
#01 you would remember what I said about some actors
not acting in their own language and he is a good
example. Second because it’s the first time Almodóvar
films a kind of horror movie or let say a drama with
some drops of horror. The film is based on Thierry
Jonquet’s novel “Mygale” about the story of a plastic
surgeon on the hunt for the men who raped his daughter.
And third because of the whole cast. Antonio Banderas,
Elena Anaya and Marisa Paredes together seem
like a good reason to give it a try. By the way, If you are
in Cannes (France) from 11 to 22 may you might have
luck and be the first to watch it at the French film festival.
If not you will have to wait until September. Send
me an email with your opinion before I destroy you the
movie with mine.
And now back to the good things.
Pedro Almodóvar was born in a very small town in one
of Spain’s deepest areas where men worked the fields
and women where strong but devoted to men and their
kids taking care of their homes. I tell you this because
Almodóvar grew up surrounded by women, learning
to know them well almost without thinking and waiting
for the next old Hollywood film to be shown at the
summer cinema and waiting for Ava Gadner, Bette
Davis or Elisabeth Taylor to come out of the screen to
light up those difficult times in the country side during
Franco’s dictatorship.
He always admired the golden Hollywood times where
the only presence of some of those amazing divas was
enough to spend almost all of the salary in a cinema
theatre. One of his favorites was Liz “violet eyes” Tay-