Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Spain 89m, Colour
Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Cast: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Rossy de Palma, María Barranco
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a soap opera-like comedic farce about a woman who is search of her ex-lover to give him some important news. While it is not difficult to guess what that news might be, her chase is a plot device that leads us is on a journey that is full of absurd twists and unlikely interconnections. Almodóvar’s brightly coloured sets and flamboyant clothing match the over-the-top performances and add to the general sense of mayhem (Klaus Ming October 2016).
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My favorite Almodovar! I saw it more than once when it first came out and I’ve seen it a bunch of times since then. I have it on DVD and I watch it without sub-titles because I like focusing on the delivery of the actors without being distracted by reading every line.
In reading a bit of background on it, I was surprised to to learn that a good number of folks don’t think the humor translated well to North American audiences. I though it was a very funny movie.