6. Almodóvar and Spanish Patterns of Film Reception

Summary

This chapter presents the range of approaches to Pedro Almodóvar's cinema in the Spanish press. With reactions that range from hate to admiration, Almodóvar's cinema has attracted increasing attention in Spain as its sociocultural and economic importance has grown. The chapter proposes to follow these developments through the analysis of three films, La ley del deseo / The Law of Desire (1987), Kika (1993) and Hable con ella/Talk to Her (2002). The discussions of the individual films are structured around three central points. The first is the effectiveness of Almodóvar's deployment of a variegated public persona in addressing diverse audiences through multiple registers. The second deals with the mediating role played by the general and specialist press. Finally, the chapter addresses, when necessary, the extra-cinematic ramifications of the films as well as the discursive fabric generated around questions of sexual, gender, and national identities.