¡Vota por mí!

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. You've got less internationally celebrated regulars like Rossy De Palma, Chuz Lampreaves (who I left out of the poll. oops), Loles Leon, Veronica Forque, Kiti Manver, Cristina Sanchez Pascual, and Eva Siva. Then you've got your international stars: Carmen Maura was the undisputed queen of 80s Almodovar. Victoria Abril and Marisa Paredes reigned in the 90s. Penelope Cruz and Cecilia Roth pop in and out of the filmography.


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

Read The Full Article:
http://filmexperience.blogspot.com/2006/08/vota-por-m_15.html

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