Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Alternate title(s):
Foreign Title: Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios
Date: January 01, 1988 to December 31, 1988
Dates Note: 1988
Country of Origin: Spain
Place of Origin: Spain
Languages: Spanish
Color: Color
Silent: No
Based On:
Additional Info:

Curator Notes

Film Series/Exhibition Title: 
Women’s Troubles: The Films of Pedro Almodóvar
Description: 

Longtime Almodóvar icon Carmen Maura is but one of many women on the verge in Almodóvar’s international breakthrough, a riotous blend of screwball comedy, fifties melodramas, Spanish soap operas, and high-eighties fashion that’s “as crowd-pleasing as it is color-coordinated” (J. Hoberman). Brokenhearted and breaking down, Pepa (Maura) must deal with a parade of similarly unhinged characters who assemble in her pastel-walled, brightly decorated Madrid flat (shot like something from a Rock Hudson/Doris Day film). Feminist lawyers, terrorists, clueless cops, and a young Antonio Banderas amplify the madness in this “brilliantly funny, sensual, and glittering celebration of women” (David Denby).

Authors/Roles: 
Jason Sanders

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