IDS 101: Spanish Cinema for a Global Audience: The Case of Pedro Almodóvar: Films

Almodóvar's provocative first feature Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980) is set during Madrid's punk era. The film is an outrageous comedy which follows docile housewife Luci (Eva Silva), her trendy, marijuana smoking neighbour Pepi (Carmen Maura) and rock star Bom (Olvido Gara) who are close friends.

Sexilia is a young sex fiend, member of a female rock group and daughter of a brilliant and twisted gynecologist. She is in love with Riza Niro, heir to a fallen Arab empire, who is more preoccupied with make up and men than with international politics.

A nightclub singer hides out in a convent after her lover dies of an overdose. The nuns, who welcome her with open arms, have problems of their own.

An absurd black comedy that centers on Gloria, a very resourceful working class housewife and cleaning woman, who is hooked on amphetamines and must contend with her crazy family.

An ex-bullfighter who is obsessed with killing confesses to a string of murders he didn't commit. The attractive lawyer he hires winds up falling for him and reveals some dark secrets of her own.

Though Pablo is in love with Juan, his affection is not reciprocated. After taking up with Antonio, Pablo temporarily loses his memory when a jealous Antonio seeks out Juan and violence occurs.

Comedy film about a woman who has been jilted by the love of her life, her friend who discovers her lover is a Shiite terrorist, and her ex-lover's crazed wife.

Comedy about an orphaned mental patient who is determined to create an ideal family for himself, so, in an irrationally inspired bid for love, he kidnaps a recovering drug addict/porn star.

The husband of a TV anchorwoman, ex-lover of her long-estranged singer-actress mother, is mysteriously killed, and both mother and daughter come under suspicion in a frenzied investigation filled with romantic mix-ups and mistaken identities.

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Kika, a young cosmetologist, is called to the mansion of Nicolas, an American writer to make-up the corpse of his stepson, Ramon. Ramon, who is not dead, is revived by Kika's attentions and she then moves in with him...

Leo writes romance novels - but with a loveless marriage, she finds herself fresh out of inspiration. Angel is a tough and gruff journalist with an iron will and a heart of gold. When their paths cross, they discover something neither had expected - a real-life love affair

The lives of five people are intertwined by romance, friendship and rivalry. Victor has fallen for a woman, Elena. Elena wants nothing to do with Victor and she calls the cops when he shows up at her apartment.

A woman must come to terms with the death of her 17-year-old son and her past when she seeks out her son's father.

In a private clinic Barco and Benigno strike up a friendship while caring for comatose women.

Filmmaker Enrique gets a visit from an aspiring actor claiming to be his old school friend Igancio, who has written a story about their traumatic childhood spent at Catholic school.

The central focus in Volver is a family of women: mother and grandmother Irene, her daughters Raimunda and Sole, and Raimunda's 14-year-old daughter Paula. Irene is dead: She died with the girls' father in a fire many years ago in their birth village in La Mancha...

When her father becomes gravely ill, beautiful Lena consents to a relationship with her boss Ernesto Martel. An extremely wealthy and much-older man, he pays for her father's hospitalisation and provides her a lavish lifestyle...

Since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr. Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has wanted to create a new skin with which he could have saved her. After twelve years, he cultivates a skin that is a real shield against every assault... But where will they find the human guinea pig?

With malfunctioning landing gear, the fight attendants on a Madrid-Mexico City flight try to distract the passengers from this crisis with comical results.

Julieta lives in Madrid with her daughter Antía. They both suffer in silence over the loss of Xoan, Antía's father and Julieta's husband.