To celebrate Sony Pictures Classics "Viva Pedro!" series (now showing on the coasts and coming to larger cities near you) I'm running a poll for who is the greatest muse of word class director Pedro Almodovar. It's a tough choice, right?
The upcoming Volver reunites Pedro with his most frequent star, Carmen Maura but she's been MIA (as far as Pedro movies go) for almost 20 years. In the meantime Pedro has been playing the field.
A total of twelve women have been featured in three or more of his films (if I missed someone, let me know). You've got your troupe regulars like the unforgettable Rossy De Palma, Chus Lampreave (who I left out of the poll. oops), comedic Loles Leon, Kika herself Veronica Forque not to mention Kiti Manver, Cristina Sanchez Pascual, and Eva Siva.
Then most visibly there are the international stars. They cross movie-making borders --most frequently to French, Argentinian, and American cinema. Carmen Maura was his undisputed queen in the 1980s. Sextastic fantastic Victoria Abril and grande dame Marisa Paredes reigned in the 90s. Penélope Cruz and Cecilia Roth pop in and out of the filmography, doing their best work for the famed auteur.
Pedro has been on a sensational run of acclaimed hits and Oscar nominees in the aughts (what filmmaker can beat this consecutive triple: All About My Mother, Talk To Her, Bad Education?) but if you're a new fan start from the beginning. It's one of the great filmographies. "Viva Pedro!", despite it's glaring omissions (where are Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and What Have I Done To Deserve This? for starters? I'd put them in for Live Flesh and Matador), should be great fun.
Don't miss this series if it comes to your city. If you only have time for a couple choose wisely. I'd skipped the recent offerings (you've seen them already) and go for his hilarious breakthrough Women on the Verge... (I hadn't seen it in 16 years and I laughed my ass off) and my personal fav from the whole damn genius filmography, Law of Desire.
Which Almodovarian heroine is the one for you?
(my thanks to Astroboy for the subtitling...)
tags: Pedro Almodovar, movies, Spain, Penelope Cruz, Marisa Paredes, Carmen Maura, Victoria Abril, Oscars, Academy Awards
