Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown

Initial release – 1988 (Barcelona) DVD initial release – April 10, 2001 Director – Pedro Almodovar 1 Oscar nomination, 25 other award wins & 19 nominations. Carmen Maura – Pepa Antonio Banderas – Carlos

Critical frameworks & themes Psychology Genre Personal response Film form Comparisons between Hable Con Ella (talk to her) and Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Obsession – Love, passion

Film Form Main colors used – Red Any change with colors of clothes used reflect on the situation that the characters find themselves in. Two sofas in two different rooms Mirror in cars shows drivers eyes, but the face is not directly shown. Same taxi driver throughout the film Street lights go out when Pepa is crossing the road. Signifying danger of death. Pepas red phone breaks – Death of Pepa if she doesnt hear back from Ivan. Phone call between two women – both facing directly at a static camera. escalators in airport – moving away with little effort. Police detective also wearing a red shirt. Representing the police, even across the world as the hate and death of the public.

Technology Phones Pepas job is a voice over in the cinema. The actors act on the screen, but dont speak. Pepa does the actors voice. Hand guns. Shows little security for an international airport.

Genre This film is classified as a comedy/ Drama. I would rather call this film a drama film rather than fitting it into the comedy genre. However this does not mean that comical effects are used within the film. An item used is when the police are investigating Pepas flat, while a friend is outside, laying on the sunbed, after taken some of the soup, which contained the sleeping pills. You know the police are going to find her, but every time they get close, they pull away, preventing the inevitable.

Psychology Bed set on fire, possible mode of suicide, but Pepa backs out, then moves onto the sleeping pills in the soup - Mentally unstable Pepa allows others to drink the soup, even though she knows it is already containing the sleeping pills.

Comparing Hable con Ella and Women on the verge of a nerve breakdown Both films contain obsession – love, romance, care, etc... I feel that in Hable con Ella the audience was positioned as another friend of Marco, played by Dario Grandinetti, and we are witnessing his passion in life, Alicia. As the film progresses, I feel that the audience warms to Marco, however as soon as we find out Marco has rapped Alicia, the view changes instantly. Both films show mental instability. Marco raps Alicia while so is still in a comma. And kills himself in prison

Personal Responce Represents spanish cinema, or Almodovars type of cinema, as over obsessive personalities, mentally instability people. Robert B. Pippins chapter 3 Devils and Angels in Almodovars Talk to her talks about Alicias rape, and compares her to sleeping beauties, and they were victims of unwanted male attentions, showing examples of male fantasies of passive, wholly dependent women who live and depend utterly on bold sexual attention by men, regardless of considerations of equality or consent.