Almodóvar: Take 2

We saw the last two new-to-us offerings in the Viva Pedro film festival last weekend. One was "Law of Desire," which came out in 1987, when I was 10. IMDB describes it as follows:

"Pablo and Tina have complicated sexual lives. Pablo writes and directs plays and films; he's gay and deeply in love with Juan, a young man who won't reply to Pablo's affection or letters. Pablo's sibling Tina is a transsexual, angry at men, raising Ada, and trying to make it as an actress. Pablo takes up with Antonio, a youth who becomes jealous of Pablo's love for Juan. Antonio seeks out Juan, and violence leads to Pablo's grief and a temporary loss of memory. When memory returns, he learns that Antonio has taken up with Tina. In horror, he hurries to Tina's rescue and must face Antonio and his desire."

Um, yeah. After seeing most of his films now, it's fun to watch for similarities from movie to movie. This one in many ways is a precursor to 2004's wonderful "Bad Education." The original stylings in "Law" are good, but I like the newer "Bad" better. It's captivating to see Almodóvar's storytelling evolve as he ages. In the 17 years between the two movies, the twisted factor is scaled back and the drama is heightened. What might once have been done for mere reaction is replaced by movements of calculated purpose.

Although "Law" is pretty wild at times, it pales in comparison to the other film we saw this weekend, "Matador," from 1986.


Again, from IMDB:

"Ex-bullfighter who is getting turned on by killing, lady lawyer with same problem and young man driven insane by over-religious upbringing - these are the main characters in this stylish black comedy about dark sides of human nature."

Dark? Try black. And morbid. Think of a kinky Romeo and Juliet. But it makes you think about the things that make us happy in life, what they mean to us and the lengths we'll go to for them. For this couple, it happens to be killing. And so they pursue it to what for them is somehow a logical end. Or, as Neil Young put it in "My, My, Hey, Hey," "It's better to burn out than to fade away."

For the rest of us, however, their tragic act poses a sequence of questions everyone wrestles with at various points in life: "Is this as good as it gets? If it is, what comes next? Can I handle that? If not, what am I to do?"

Makes me shudder to think how lucky I am that things just keep getting better. May they do the same for you, too.