Frauen am Rande des Nervenzusammenbruchs (1988) Online

There are some movies that, no matter how good the translation, are just impossible for a particular audience to get. This is why I think most of the American audience wasn't be able to get into WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. After directing the rather weak and disappointing drama/thriller LAW OF DESIRE, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar returned to screens in his full glory with this wonderful Academy Award-nominated screwball comedy.

Pepa (Almodovar regular Carmen Maura) works as an actress for TV commercials and dubbing of foreign films. Her lover Ivan (Fernando Guillen), who shares the same job, decides to leave her one day for unknown reasons, leading Pepa to assume he left with his wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano), who was recently released from the mental hospital. But after a while, Pepa realizes Lucia thinks the exact opposite, and that Ivan left for an unknown third woman. While on her quest to find this third woman, Pepa has to deal with her nervous friend Candela (Maria Barranco) who recently found out her boyfriend is a wanted terrorist and Carlos, (Antonio Banderas) Ivan's son whose annoying fiancé ends up getting accidentally knocked off by a rather lethal gazpacho.

Going any further with this film's plot would be unfair since most of the humor is delivered from it's many twists and turns. Almodovar was able to write a script so sharp with so many colorful characters and situations that the entire thing goes down with pure laughter. But is everyone laughing?

That brings me to the answer as to why many people didn't find this funny at all. If you don't speak or understand Spanish, (or some other language that comes from Latin) you won't be able to get this film as much as others. There is a reason why so many American comedians are never able to make it overseas: Humor is simply not international. The rumored but thankfully never completed American remake of this would have never worked. The performances for example: To people who understand the language, you can tell when the characters are being ironic, sarcastic, goofy, or serious. I don't think you can do that very well when English is your first language. So the users that have been complaining about "flat" performances might be already explained.

Almodovar has been accused of being a feminist, and this movie might be the main reason. I don't quite agree with that because WOMEN doesn't really leave strong message. If it does, I know few people who would actually care for it because this movie is hilarious. Every single character in these 90 minutes of absurdity gets well-balanced and get enough amount of time to shine: The MAMBO TAXI driver for example, turns out to be one of the funniest elements. The scenes all by themselves are already OK, but the frequency that they happen make them somehow even funnier. And the first-rate acting gets a big plus in my book. Everyone here is perfect (including a very scary way Almodovar coaches a good performance out of Antonio Banderas) with the true stand-out being Carmen Maura as over-the-top neurotic Pepa. It is a shame this was Maura's last collaboration with Almodovar.

But WOMAN's style is also not to be ignored: Most of the movie is set inside Pepa's apartment, which is put to good use. It is an amazing then-futuristic-looking retro set that with it's sitcom-like camp and artificial looking painted backgrounds becomes almost a character itself. Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine's camera is always up to interesting moves: There is the tracking shot of Pepa's feet as she walks in circles waiting for her call, or the reflection take from the answering machine. The work with colors is equally stunning, with the main colors being yellow and blue, and Pepa's red dress "over coloring" the environments around her for most of the time. You could freeze frame almost every interior shot of WOMEN... and stare at it for a while.

I can't really recommend this movie enough, as much as hard it is to review comedies. Reviewing a comedy is a tough call since it depends on weather you found the material funny or not. I have seen this over ten times and I always laugh at certain moments which I don't want to spoil. Let's just say the Jehovah's testimony and the TV commercial are the parts that always get me. I certainly did enjoy WOMEN... more than any other comedy I have ever seen.

(5/5)

This is in my opinion the greatest Almodovar film ever! Its funny and serious, but mainly farscical, but its brilliant. Carmen Maura steals the show as a woman close to the edge, but her performance is fully backed up by all the rest of the cast. Antonio Banderas performance is excellent as a geeky young man, with his girlfriend and mother also shining. It combines all the elements of American comedy of the sixties but brings it back at us with a touch of latin spirit. This film in my opinion is a gem, for anyone who wants to laugh!

"Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios," or "Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown" is one of Pedro Almodovar's funniest films in which a young woman's world is falling apart at the seams.

Pepa Marco (Carmen Maura)discovers that her lover Ivan (Fernando Guillen) has left her (Leaving a message on her answering machine). She also finds out that she's pregnant. It seems that things can't possibly get any worse.

But of course, she's wrong.

Trying to figure out why her lover left her, she contacts his ex-wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano), who is a bit unbalanced herself. She also finds out that Ivan and Lucia had a son name Carlos (Antonio Banderas)who, along with his fiancé Marissa (Rossy de Palma)visit Pepa to sublease her apartment. Then there is her friend Candela (Marisa Barranco), who is on the run when she finds out her lover is a terrorist who is planning to hijack a plane bound for Stockholm, and that she fears that the police will be after her.

Soon, Pepa has some serious problems. Lucia is convinced that Ivan is still involved with her, and the police show up at her door. The only thing she can do is offer her guests a nice cup of gazpacho. Trouble is, she had spiked the spicy concoction with sleeping pills (Which had already put Marissa to sleep). To make matters worse, Lucia takes off after Ivan after learning that he is at the airport with his new love, about to take off to Stockholm! Will Pepa get to her former love in time to stop Lucia from killing him? Great entry in Almodovar's filmography and its as spicy as the drugged gazpacho!

What I like most about this movie is the economy of it's writing and directing. There really isn't a wasted moment, nothing extraneous and that is what keeps the pace crackling and makes the movie watchable in every moment. It also has one of the GREAT ensembles ever. Carmen Maura as Pepa keeps herself on that verge for an hour and a half without ever really falling off the edge, it is a beautifully modulated performance. Maria Barranco as Candela is another performance that teeters on the edge of falling off into an emotional rubble but somehow manages to keep it together. Those two are delightful in every moment they are on screen. We can't forget Julieta Serrano as Lucia, the one truly crazy, post-breakdown woman in the story who brings a quality of self-awareness to her role that makes it a bit heartbreaking. She knows she is nuts and can't do a damn thing about it. And then there is VERY strangely attractive Rossy de Palma as Marisa, a virgin who needs nothing so much as she just needs to get laid to mellow her out. These women are all superlative, but Guillermo Montesinos as the Taxi Driver nearly steals the movie out from everyone and gives certainly the best male performance in the film. You have to see him to believe him.

I have seen several Almodovar films and this is far and away my favorite. The acting is marvelous in the original Spanish, especially Maria Barranco as Candela, and a young Antonio Banderas in his pre-US fame days. However, if you obtain the DVD version of this movie, resist the temptation to use the English-dubbed soundtrack. Sadly, the English version is just not funny. The readings are flat and uninspired, and the translation is not always accurate; too literal in some cases, just missing the point in others. It appears that the English dialog was written more for a close match with the lip movements than for precise translation. Instead, use the Castilian Spanish audio track and savor the beautiful performances. If you don't understand the language, read the English subtitles, which are more appropriately translated, and still enjoy the original.

MUJERES AL BORDE DE UN ATAQUE DE NERVIOS is, from its classic opening title sequence in which Lola Beltran belts out her powerhouse ranchera ballad "Soy infeliz" to a montage of pictures taken from women's fashion catalogues to its appropriate closing with La Lupe (a gay icon herself in Latin America) singing her diatribe, "Puro Teatro", a perfect parenthesis that encapsulates a gay man's wet dream: the assortment of strong femininity, filmed to the beat of a potboiler, seen through the eyes of Douglas Sirk, and the heart and essence of farce taken to its limits. Seeing Almodovar's comedic masterpiece is not enough: it has to be savored like the fine wine it's become as it approaches its twentieth year from when it first exploded into theatres and rocked Spanish cinema to its core. Quite frankly, this is the greatest screwball comedy ever filmed, and for a genre created in the United States, this one trumps even Preston Sturges in sheer craziness that just builds upon momentum until it veers out of control.

As a matter of fact, television audiences who follow the satirical "Desperate Housewives" should make an effort to see Almodovar's WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN and appreciate the genius run amok during the approximate 90 minutes it takes to tell its frantic story. It's the only real way to appreciate what goes on ABC's hit show. From the moment our heroine, Pepa (Carmen Maura, in a role that has defined her career) awakens from her slumber and frantically runs to the phone to get that hungrily awaited phone call from Ivan (Fernando Guillen) who has abandoned her and faints in the middle of dubbing Joan Crawford as Vienna in JOHNNY GUITAR, as she crosses paths with the scared Candela (Maria Barranco), the lunatic Lucia (Julietta Serrano), anal Marisa (Rossy de Palma), and feminist Paulina (Kiti Manver) during the course of two days, we're in the same league as the five women of "Housewives." They might even serve as parenthetical bookmarks due to the twin nature of women in the throes of despair pushed to the extreme.

This is, as a matter of fact, what THE WOMEN would have looked like had it been filmed fifty years later. Less stagy than Cukor's film but no less effective even when it pokes good fun at artifice, camp, and itself, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN is smart, witty, ferociously funny and oddly touching -- a tough thing to do in comedies. It marked the movie which brought Pedro Almodovar to international fame, such that MATADOR was re-released in order to bring its equally bizarre story to the public who had discovered a wunderkind in the avant-garde director. For years, plans for an American remake floated about and actresses names were on a continuous shuffle. Thankfully, the idea has not come through and audiences can enjoy this very Spanish, very quirky movie in its original form and see why the term "Almodovarian" exists in cinema today. This is what started it all, proper.

Funny, outrageous, ridiculous, colorful and fascinating film by Almodovar--his most popular film in America (so far). The story defies description but, basically, it's about three women (an actress, a psychopath and one on the run from the law) who are all affected by one man. THe story starts slow, picks up speed and is barreling out of control by the end. Well-acted, beautiful to look at and never a dull moment. Just see it! You won't be disappointed. Love the cabdriver and his cab!

Truly wonderful and insightful romp which alternates between tragedy and farce seamlessly without ever missing a beat. Excellent performances by the entire cast contribute mightily as does a first-class camp score. This was the first Almodovar film I ever saw, and it made it a requisite for me to see each new one as it comes out. The man is a genius!

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is the first in hopefully what will be a long line of Almodovar films, I just watched it today at a free film screening when I was supposed to be seeing Fellini's 8 1/2 until the tape messed up. This was a very fine substitute.

The film contains all the elements of an absurdist play by the likes of Beckett, Stoppard or Ionesco. From its bizarre and essentially alienating dialogue, to its disjointed plot brought somewhat together by the end, it is an absolute delight to see such films around today.

All the characters are wonderfully developed and, like in a play, the narrative is light in plot but heavy in characters. It makes you think, not about the story it is telling since the story itself is ludicrous, and not about what is said for the same reason, but just about the way the characters interact with each other and how this can be applied to everyday life.

There are also some wonderful performances contained within. Each of the actors and actresses are so gutsy and alive inside this strange para-universe that Almodovar has created. It really is a treat to watch, with the persistently wry and often wildly ironic humour extracted to its full potential by the deadpan mock seriousness plastered across each character's face. It gives us a good laugh, not just at the film itself but at ourselves and the elements of us we can see in it. Plus the mambo cab is a dead-set winner.

After seeing this film, I am currently desperate to see another Almodovar. From this one piece I can see he is definitely a director worth celebrating and admiring and I will try to encourage many others to discover him for themselves. ****1/2 / *****

Wickedly funny movie of actress who gets dumped by her lover, and how she responds. Full of zany characters and richly applied satire, and some great plot twists. Very offbeat and comical, your time will be well rewarded. This is an excellent movie for Americans to get acquainted, if you're not familiar already, with foreign films or directors. Directed by Pedro Almodovar. Highly recommended.

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.

What does spiked gazpacho, a suitcase, and a crazy woman with a gun have in common? Not much, at first glance, unless you are in the head of director Pedro Almodovar. In his film Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, Pedro mixes apparently unconnected objects and events that make no sense until the film is over. His direction and distinct style combined with good actors makes a movie as unforgettable as it is foreign. The basic plot deals with one day in the life of Pepa Marcos, played by Carmen Maura. During the day, we meet her lover, Ivan, who has a son, Carlos, whose girlfriend is Marisa, but like his father, Carlos is not loyal to Marisa but would rather kiss whoever walk in front of him, like Candela, Pepa's friend. All of the opposing motives create and tense mood, but besides everything is seems that Pepa knows what is going on and only worries about Ivan. The main subject is the destructive cycle of machismo and the women that are trapped by it. There are three girls and have fallen in love with one man that really doesn't love any of them, but only as temporary lovers. The tragedy is that the women don't realize this except Pepa who ends her relationships with Ivan. Even though she doesn't love Ivan anymore, we see with her conversation with Marisa, that she has not given up her love for machismo, but that she wants the telephone repairman. In my opinion, what makes this film good is the direction by Almodovar. I have never seen a style so distinct and interesting like his. The settings are familiar, but at the same time the colors create another world, like the world of Oz. One scene that captures this is when Pepa talks with Lucia on the phone and we can only see their faces and bright backgrounds. This is just a small example, but the attention to detail is the most important job to a director, and Almodovar has done it well. I recommend the move to anyone that wants to try something new, even though it was filmed in 1988. I think that anyone can relate to at least one role, especially because of the great acting. The film could give us a new look on our concept of love while keeping an open mind.

Offbeat crazy comedy with hilarious results and turns out to be pretty funny . Almodóvar comedy starred by Spanish star cast plenty of likable humour and disconcerting plots . A film dubber woman called Pepa (Carmen Maura) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when his lover named Ivan (Fernando Guillen) leaves her, and she tries to contact him to find out why he left her . In the opening scene Pepa (Carmen Maura) and Ivan (Fernando Guillen Cuervo) are dubbing to Spanish Johnny Guitar (1954). Pepa takes on Ivan's wife (Julieta Serrano) who is zealous because of his husband left her for her . Meanwhile , her clueless friend called Candela (María Barranco , though Victoria Abril turned down the role) appears in her flat . Candela who is as unsettling as she is afraid the police are looking for her because of her boyfriend seems to be a dangerous Islamic terrorist . There also meets Carlos (Antonio Banderas) , Ivan'son , and his girlfriend (Rossy De Palma) and amazing happenings take place .

Pedro Almodóvar brings us a very mixed bag of outlandish characters , rapid dialogs , and absurd situations on a luxury flat . As a pregnant woman becomes involved into loving triangles , terrorists , revenger wives and faces the greatest danger, which we carry within ourselves . Enjoyable though silly film full of good taste , offbeat characters , embarrassing mood-pieces , fun scenes , sympathetic humor and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including conventional as well as undiluted pitfalls . The picture deals with troubled people , off-the-wall comedy , absurdities , terrorism , jealousy and many other things . The movie is pretty well and turns out to be a superior comedy to Almodovar's previous and subsequent entries . The result is an amusing but sometimes absurd comedy ,including profanities , colorful frames and a crazy strings of plots . There are many references to Pedro Almodóvar's universe throughout the film . Pedro Almodóvar and Carmen Maura's personal relationship was seriously damaged during the shooting, which Maura even defined as a "living hell". It took 18 years for them to work again . On Carmen Maura , Almodóvar told : ¨If you divide the stages of my career and labelled them with the names of the people I've worked with, there's definitely a stage in my filmmaking that would be called The Carmen Maura Years, and those films were all in the 80s - although I did work with her again on Volver (2006). At the time, I felt she was absolutely the best vehicle I could find to tell my stories. She was the actress who had the best intuition, to connect with what I wanted from her. She could be very funny and very dramatic at the same time, so it was the perfect combination for me¨ . Nice interpretations by all star-studded cast as Maria Barranco , Fernando Guillen , Rossy De Palma , Julieta Serrano and full of familiar faces as Chus Lampreave as a caretaker , Witness Jehová , and other delightfully played roles such as Kiti Mánver , Guillermo Montesinos as Cabman , Eduardo Calvo , Loles León , Joaquin Climent , Lambordero , Ana Leza , among others . And a Hollywood/Spain super star : Antonio Banderas . In fact , this movie marks Antonio Banderas's 3th collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar , after Labyrinth of passions and Matador , subsequently they made : Atame , The skin I live in , I'm so excited , among others hits . As usual in most of Pedro Almodóvar's movies, there is a small role for Agustín Almodóvar, his brother and producer of the film, who plays a building employee . Atmospheric musical score by early deceased Bernardo Bonezzi , Almodovar's ordinary ; including known songs by Chavela Vargas . Colorful and luxurious cinematography by Jose Luis Alcaine .

The motion picture was realized in his peculiar style by Pedro Almodovar ; he often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular story lines though here he directs a special comedy , including his ordinary touches . Almodovar directs throughout with splendid zip and he usually portrays strong female characters and transsexuals and along his career getting some important international prizes . His first feature film, Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980), was made in 16 mm and blown-up to 35 mm for public release . In 1987, he and his brother Agustín Almodóvar established their own production company : El Deseo, S. A. The "Almodóvar phenomenon" has reached all over the world , making his films very popular in many countries . Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar subsequently made successes such as Labyrinth of passions , Law of desire , Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown , Bad education , All about my mother , Talk to her , Broken embraces , The Skin I Live In and many others . The latest from acclaimed Spanish director , Pedro Almodovar's I'm So Excited (Los Amantes Pasajeros) competing for the inaugural best European comedy honor during the upcoming 26th edition of the European Film Awards .

excerpt, full review at my location.

Director Pedro Almodovar shot to international fame in 1988 when Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown was released. It was nominated for an Oscar and won numerous other awards, as well as smashing box office records in Spain. It is a stylish black comedy that oozes visual flair and a sharp sense of humour from start to finish.

It is easy to see why this film was so successful and why Pedro Almodovar has become such a cult icon. Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, although slightly dated, has an incredible amount of charm, a great sense of visual style and a quirky wit that makes it a very enjoyable movie. If you are new to Almodovar, then this is the best film to introduce you to him. Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown is undeniably a grand landmark in Spanish film.

With the Toronto Film Festival going on this weekend, it is appropriate that this is my second venture into Pedro Almodóvar's films, as it won the People's Choice Award at that festival in 1989.

Almodóvar wrote and directed this very funny film that is a far cry from Matador. Antonio Banderas is back, this time with a Lyle Lovette haircut, as the son of a philandering husband (Fernando Guillén), who also cheats on his girlfriends.

Carmen Maura (Volver0 leads a superb cast as the girlfriend that just got dumped. She is hilarious as she appears to be losing it. In comes her girlfriend (María Barranco), who is afraid of being arrested for harboring Shiite terrorists (this is 1998!). Add Banderas and his mother to the mix, and you have one laugh after another.

It even had a great line reminiscent of "A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle.":

Ana (Ana Leza, who was married to Banderas before Melanie Griffith came along): I'm fed up. I'm gonna get myself some quick cash, buy myself his bike and split. With a bike, who needs a man? Pepa (Carmen Maura): Learning mechanics is easier than learning male psychology. You can figure out a bike, but you can never figure out a man.

It is almost misogynistic to say the movie was very funny as all the women were hysterical, but it was.

You cannot not like this film. It should be forbidden by law. Even more if one knows Spain and the Spanish! The dialogues are exhilaratingly absurd, the happenings don't make any sense, but why should they? At the end of the day, that is how women are, and that is how Almodovar tries to portray them - hysterical, jealous, irrational at many times. Men are in the second plan here, and that is also to put men in their place. It is a joyful look into women's heads while crazed by love, and without all the "deep thinking" feel a lot of directors try to put into their films just to make them serious. This film proves that seriousness have nothing to do with greatness. The only time he fails is when he makes his ode to Fellini too obvious in the beginning of the film - a man walking through the women of his life, with winds silently blowing in the background in a b&w image... I've seen it all before. But apart from that, everything about it was just wonderful.

This movie is a treat for the eyes and a feast of fun for the mind. I watched transfixed as one outrageously implausible event followed another, the frantic action bathed in those primary colors that are a trademark of Almodovar's visual style.

Pedro Almodovar can make plastic look sexy. I would watch his movies even if they had no plot, just for the sheer pleasure of his compositions and audacious color sense. But add a fascinating plot--like a bad dream that's fun, if you can imagine such a thing--and some downright brilliant acting, and you've got me voting "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" a solid ten out of ten.

Definitely one of the funniest films I've ever seen.

The title, 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', tells exactly what this movie is about. A couple of women who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The film has the form of a soap opera although it combines many genres; in the end it is just a terrific comedy.

One of the women is Pepa (Carmen Maura), an actress. An actor, Iván (Fernando Guillén), was her lover but now he has left her. Before he leaves town she needs to speak to him and that is one of her goals the entire film. Another woman is Candela (María Barranco). She is almost losing it because her boyfriend is an arrested terrorist. She fears her name will be mentioned and she will be arrested. We also meet Iván's ex-wife Lucía who is a little mad with Pepa since she was her ex-husband's lover. Iván's son Carlos (a young Antonio Banderas) visits Pepa's apartment together with his wife because they are interested in renting it. Other women including a lawyer called Paulina Morales (Kiti Manver), a couple of police officers and a cabdriver are also central characters.

Somehow all these characters with their own story lines come together somewhere in the movie. In the beginning it is a little hard to keep track, although director Pedro Almodóvar keeps things pretty organized with his soap opera approach. The film is comedy all the time but it has dramatic moments, thriller moments, action moments including a chase, crime moments, and even a western moment in a sublime touch when two women are face to face, both with a drink, instead of guns, in their hand.

Director Pedro Almodóvar, who has made the critically acclaimed 'Todo Sobre Mi Madre' ('All About My Mother') and 'Hable con Ella' ('Talk to Her'), here already shows us how gifted he is as a writer and as a director. He knows that comedy can be found in all things, including sad things like lost love and suicide. Instead of trying to create funny moments he just gives us a couple of characters in a room and trusts that their way of living is funny enough for an audience to like it. As with the two movies I mentioned earlier 'Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios' is a terrific example.

Hitchcock has Psycho, Godard has Breathless, Buñuel has Belle de Jour, and Almodóvar has Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

A knuckles-to-the-face romp that has a big bite and a big heart, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown sets its sights on Pepa (Carmen Maura), a fashionable but depressed voice-over actress. Her career has been mostly successful, but in just the past week, her life has turned into a housewife's dream of a soap opera. Her lover has left her, she's pregnant, she faints at the slightest source of drama, she nearly overdoses on sleeping pills, and her friend (María Barranco) is dating a terrorist. If that doesn't sound like Almodóvar, then you must not associate Steven Spielberg with E.T. and all-American families thrown into otherworldly situations.

Almodóvar isn't in the mood to bump us around; he'd rather charm us, in the same way Doris Day vehicles did when soap commercials were still around. For Almodóvar, the '80s were a time to figure things out, drape his colorful images and themes onto unusual projects, and hope they'd stick. Usually, they'd be so outrageous that they'd be inevitably smacked in the face with the dreaded NC-17 rating. By Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, it seems as if he's bored with outright camp, in the same way John Waters was in the days of Cry-Baby.

As one of cinema's most confident directors, Almodóvar restrains his inner wildness and lets the zippiness of the film speak for itself. In return, it becomes his calling card. Audiences don't want to be left in shock, after all; they want to have a good time. And I dare you to not be entertained by Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

There are only highly saturated colors, faux, pop-arty sets, six emotions, and women (save for Antonio Banderas and Fernando Cuervo). There are no subtleties to be found in the film, and it's all the better for it. It's a 1930s women picture on acid. It's such a madcap comedy that anything regarding realism would ruin its potent screwball scent.

The conversations are so witty and so rapid-fire that they only exist in a blink-and-you'll miss it ideology. When the dialogue is serious, it has all the seriousness of a Lichtenstein painting. When the dialogue is funny, it would prefer to derive its laughs from the melodramatic turmoil of the film's leading characters.

Almodóvar jumps all over the place, defining comedy, drama, romance, pulp, and action in a single swipe. In any other case, the film would be a lost cause in terms of identity, never knowing what it wants to be. Yet Almodóvar makes Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown singular. It's so broadly drawn in the first place that any case of camp seems to be begged for. Hell, if an elephant decided to join in on the complicated situation in Pepa's nutty apartment, it wouldn't come as a surprise. Yes, the film is a comedy; but it's so Almodóvar it deserves its own unique genre, off on some weird, cartoonish planet.

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Pepa is having a crisis. Her lover is leaving her and now her doctor tells her she is pregnant. Her best friend may be wanted by the police for her association with a Shiite terrorist. And now her lover's psychotic wife is knocking at the door. Can she catch up with her lover, protect her friend, arrange a new romance for her lover's son, dodge the police, and disarm her lover's wife in time to foil an international terrorist plot? Well... maybe after she serves her guests some gazpacho.

In any other hands WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN would collapse into mere frantic farce, but Almodovar directs Carmen Marua and an ensemble cast to a brilliant series of plausible performances that allows the viewer to buy into the story, improbabilities and all--and the result is a hilarious, touching, and fascinating film that is considerably more than the sum of its parts. This is certainly comedy at its most sophisticated, splashed with social satire and spangled with a touch of symbolism for those inclined to seek it.

A number of motifs run through the film--recorded voices, telephones, and the color red are but a few examples--but Almodovar doesn't force his audience to deconstruct his film in order to enjoy it, and WOMEN ON THE VERGE is easily one of the funniest European films of the past fifty years. Those who expect farce plain and simple or who like their movies to tie up into a neat package by the time the credits roll may be disappointed--but if you can make a leap of faith and meet the film on its own terms you'll find it sly, witty, often laugh-out-loud funny... and it will leave you with a feel-good afterglow too. Strongly, strongly recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Almodovar is one of those great foreign directors that makes us all think...why isn't American cinema this good anymore? Witty, honest, quirky, profound, truthful and dramatic, a film from Almodovar is always a unique and refreshing experience. The way he's evolved as a director over the past three decades is fascinating--compare, for example, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," "All About My Mother," and his newest film, "Talk to Her." He's been all over the map, and the gorgeously slow camera movements along with the brutally honest script featured in "Talk to Her" seem to come from an entirely different source than the same director who made the hectic comedy "Women on the Verge..." He's gone from hilarious frenetic slapstick to a certain gay simplicity in "All About..." to the stunning emotional array in "Talk to Her." Yet what's interesting is that his career hasn't progressed from bad to good, or vice versa, as so many others has; his films have always been original and lovely, yet when compared, they all have startling differences in genre and pace.

Anyway, I highly recommend this movie, or anything Almodovar has ever made...he's one of the world's great directors, and his movies shouldn't be missed. His

communication with his actors and his artistic grasp on his projects really become noticeable, and watching Almodovar films is like an instruction course for those interested in becoming filmmakers. See it. ..

In all the world of film, the most admirable achievement is a film that is entered well. It is the hardest thing in the world to do when you have something interesting to offer. Its why genres exist, to make the entry automatic for lesser filmmakers.

Almodovar is one of several Spanish-speaking filmmakers who are carrying the future right now. Some of his films are sublime. "Talk to Her" is so lovely and deep I feel he has secretly infected my marrow with an already lucid version of myself.

The actual movie of "Breakdown" is pretty trivial: part screwball, part what some call surreal but is really a goof on itself. (Not a parody, mind you. That's for dopes.) So once you get into it, its just a meal.

But the entry into this is so wonderful, so imaginative it will exhaust you.

Our heroine is a voice-over actress who dubs Spanish dialog for non-Spanish films. Her lover is as well, and they "play" lovers on-screen. Except it isn't them, exactly. And it isn't love, exactly. And they aren't playing, exactly.

(She also does commercials and this is how she is "seen" by the public. One is shown. Now this IS a parody, but it is presented as if it were not, mixing parody in with the "real," confounding the screwball nature of the thing.)

The entry into this film plays on the "not exactly" natures to slowly and gently (but with some viewer confusion) slide us from a space where we are watching a movie, to a space where we are in the midst of adding the meaning to an existing movie that isn't fully formed.

This man deserves celebration, attention. He deserves to be entered.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

I don't think Pedro Almodóvar used to make better films than the ones he makes now; I believe he's always crafted very good movies. But maybe some elements or characteristics of his older pieces are not as present in his actual work, "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios" made me aware of this. For example, the day that the women of this film experience is unlikely to occur in an Almodóvar work today.

Mostly I mean the level of craziness and the absurd. His last film, "Volver", finds a lot of women living 'at the verge of a nervous breakdown' (as the title of this movie translates in English), and although they are about to loose their minds at times, they don't find the same taxi driver three times when they stop a cab in different parts of a big city on a same day… That's delirious!

But what's even more delirious is that Almodóvar's writing, with a perfect eye for understanding the female conscience, seems completely real but is cut off by situations like the one I've just mentioned; and that's a beautiful contrast. It's like watching a middle shot of Pepa (Carmen Maura) talking on the phone that suddenly changes to a close-up of her fast walking red high heels; it's like hearing things a woman in a difficult situation would think, but listening to the woman saying them out loud.

I don't know if Almodóvar would want to explain what "Mujeres…" is about; maybe he'd prefer that you watch it without reading anything about it. I could just tell you it involves a woman (Pepa) having an affair with a man that left his sick wife and his nerdy son, who's involved with an ugly desperate woman that goes with him to visit an apartment to buy and the apartment is Pepa's, who at the moment is being visited by a girlfriend who's scared because her ex-boyfriend turned out to be a terrorist…Don't say that you would have preferred I hadn't told you anything.

This is one of Almodóvar's first works, but don't forget this is the man who afterwards made semi-autobiographical pictures with risky images and character dramas with ruthless and pathetic characters. As a director, Almodóvar makes all his films look practically the same (the cinematography of the ever efficient Jose Luis Alcaine), although here the score is from a thrilling (Bernardo Bonezzi), before Alberto Iglesias started collaborating with Pedro.

Which takes us to the differentiating factor in an Almodóvar film: the screenplay, in this movie as always highlighted by the classic credits "screenplay and direction". Better than anything else, we find Almodóvar the writer, capable of creating (in this piece) wonderful characters speaking all the same time in a small room where you can understand everything and you don't stop laughing.

And therefore the performances shine; here by means of a unique and impossible to replace Carmen Maura, a beautifully over the top Julieta Serrano, a hilarious María Barranco and an unrecognizable Antonio Banderas, who shows here that he was probably something like an actor during a time of his life; Almodóvar allowed me to see that.

Twelve years before he directed Todo Sobre Mi Madre, Almodovar directed this piece of quiet brilliance about the co-dependencies of women and men. All aspects of sexuality and sensuality are explored in a kind of dimensional space not of this planet. Freed from conventional constraints, Aldomovar takes us into the frustrations and insecurities of the inner psyche. Perspective is the key we are assured, but how do the women keep perspective when the game is constantly changing,and there are no other constants except change. Very enjoyable.

Confused relationships are a pretty common theme to make a film about. Starting right back in the 19-Thirties with the magnificent American Laurel & Hardy.

Being Spanish from 1988, and therefore quite different in its style and approach, this film surely touches on an equal level.

Great acting in a stylish film. Presenting us with a slightly surrealistic touch that lifts 'Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios' ways above the common level its story suggests. Making it to a really great black comedy.

Mentioning Laurel and Hardy is justified here: they, too, were absolute masters in lifting up a common story to a level that easily survives any passing of time. I have no doubt this Spanish film will do the same.