Almodóvar on Almodóvar

by Frédéric Strauss (Editor), Yves Baigneres (Translator), Yves Baignères (Translation)

Pedro Almodóvar's films—such as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, All About My Mother, and Talk to Her, to name a few—are colorful and deeply felt celebrations of life and love. The influence of these works, which have been feted around the world, has been immense, and Almodóvar on Almodóvar tells the personal story of the man and his wonderfully vivid and outrageous vision.

Almodóvar came of age during an austere time in rural Spain: the 1950s, the age of the Cold War, of mambo, of Balenciaga, of the Korean War, of the Hungarian Revolution, of the death of Stalin. But none of these events bore any impact on his village. In response, Almodóvar proceeded to carve for himself a unique niche in contemporary cinema with films bursting with vibrant energy and vivid, primary colors—each frame saturated with passions, releasing a pure, visual, visceral emotion. In these frank and passionate conversations, Almodóvar discusses his astonishing life and career with a humor that is distinctly his own.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Spanish Literature, Spain

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книгата е поредица от интервюта, засягащи повече ранните творби на Алмодовар. Всичко в стила и направата им е разчепкано твърде подробно, та на моменти дори доскучаваше и попрескочих това-онова.

Разбираме също, колко много желае да сподели с нас създателя на филмите, а твърде често ние просто се плъзгаме по идеите му и ги консумираме, без особено да се замислим върху тях...

На "Всичко за майка ми" и "Говори с нея", които са ми много любими, е отделено малко място в края, твърде нови са били по време на написването на този мемоар.

Алмодовар споделя много за майка си, за това как го е засегнала смъртта ѝ, за сложните им отношения. Всичко това ще видим на екрана в "Болка и слава" от 2019, който се оказва силно биографичен и в който Антонио Бандерас е просто великолепен!!!

P.S. В книгата са включени цветни снимки от обсъжданите ленти.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q. What is it with Spain and surrealism?
Almodovar: Well, it’s natural in a place where everyone has a ham hanging over their bath.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love him, love his films. Love his colors, love his women, love his obsession with subjects that make people uncomfortable and how comfortable we become watching it all. For the film geeks out there.

[Mina Talaat · Rating 3 out of 5]

حوار طويل يناقش بدايات المودوفار و أفلامه و طريقته كتاباته و الالهام الخاص به
لم أشاهد له أية أفلام لكني بحثت عنها في موقع imdb و كان أغلبها ذو تقييمات عالية

[Brennan Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to hear a director work chronologically through their filmography in their own words. But here I found the interviewer incredibly pretentious, crafting questions to impress the readers (and Almodóvar himself) with how smart he is, rather than digging into what I’d actually want to know about the films.

[marteta · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gusta mucho que vayan película por película, está muyyy bien pero a excepción de alguna cosa, tampoco es nada que Pedro no haya dicho previamente en entrevistas

[Kasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me, myself, I, and Almodóvar. A completely uninteresting interview, which turned out to be a narcissistic monologue.

[Kuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

After three long years I finally managed to finish this book. The translation caused such a terrible disconnect, it was quite the opposite of what one would expect of a book full of interviews. I kept forgetting it was Almodóvar who was talking; his answers seemed cold and detached, which was unnerving, because he’s one of the most passionate directors in my eyes. I’m very disappointed, and even though they included some interesting details about his movies, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. Just very poorly written in my opinion.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

É incrível poder ver um diretor que você admira falar da sua vida pessoal e profissional. Da vida no set.

[Anbeacor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversar com Almodóvar pareceu querer conversar sobre um inconsciente.

[Katya Vinogradova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thorough analysis of every Pedro Almodovar movie, compiled from interviews with the writer-director. Frederic Strauss has a wonderful way of phrasing his questions and eliciting responses from Almodovar in order to paint a full portrait of not only his movies, but also of Spanish society and culture. They also touch upon Almodovar's influences from the world of cinema and literature, discuss deep philosophical questions and other topics.
A must for anyone who loves films in general and Pedro Almodovar in particular!

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good if you like Pedro's work.