Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writers:

Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay)
Pedro Almodóvar (story)

Release Date:

11 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A woman's lover leaves her, and she tries to contact him to find out why he's left. She confronts his wife and son...

Plot Keywords:

Sleeping Pill | Burning Bed | Betrayal | Nervous Breakdown | Womanizer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Carmen Maura	...	Pepa
Antonio Banderas	...	Carlos
Julieta Serrano	...	Lucía
María Barranco	...	Candela
Rossy de Palma	...	Marisa
Kiti Manver	...	Paulina Morales
Guillermo Montesinos	...	Taxista
Chus Lampreave	...	Portera Testiga de Jehová
Eduardo Calvo	...	Padre de Lucía (as Yayo Calvo)
Loles León	...	Secretaria
Ángel de Andrés López	...	Policía I (as Angel de Andrés-López)
Fernando Guillén	...	Iván
Juan Lombardero	...	Germán
José Antonio Navarro	...	Policía II
Ana Leza	...	Ana

Also Known As:

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2005) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Estudios Barajas, Madrid, Spain

Company:

El Deseo S.A.

Trivia:

Contrary to popular belief, the cab driver is not played by director Pedro Almodóvar, but Guillermo Montesinos.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Pepa pushes the baggage cart at Lucia and it moves with a great deal of speed. However, in the next shot, it's obvious that the cart barely hits her, yet she falls as if it did.

Quotes:

Candela: Men keep taking advantage of me. I always realize it when it's too late. Look how the Arab world treated me. I sure didn't deserve that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ugly Betty: Sisters on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (#3.12)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Capricho Español

My brief review of the film

An interesting Spanish comedy, the film's humour is derived mostly from the events being so absurd. Some aspects are overly ridiculous, but it is still very entertaining stuff, executed in a lively manner with an appropriately fast pace and suitable music choices. It is constantly interesting on a visual level, with vibrant colours, creative camera angles, and a lot of framing and close-up shots. The action is a bit frantic and the plot is a little too convoluted, but the film maintains an almost fantasy-like atmosphere, in which it feels like anything is possible, and this quality makes it an enjoyable, unique watch. It is hard to say if Almodóvar is trying to say anything at all here, as there are some ideas raised about consequences that are not explored in much depth. Still, the originality of it all keeps it afloat, and it is certainly quite an unusual (in a positive sense) cinematic experience.