A Summer of Almodóvar: Week 6 (Part 1): Kika (1993)

One of Almodóvar’s lesser known films, Kika is actually one of his best. My first impression of the movie was that, among Almodóvar’s body of work, Kika has been neglected. The grainy video quality left much to be desired (and this was a DVD). It certainly made me wonder why his earlier films had proper DVD releases (seemingly remastered) and this one was just forgotten. After watching it, I realized why. The ones with proper releases were well-received and although their subject matter was typical Almodóvar, they weren’t nearly as raunchy as Kika.

Kika meets Ramón

Here’s a quick rundown of our characters: Kika is a cosmetologist hired by American writer Nicholas to make-up the corpse of his stepson Ramón. Ramón’s death comes on the heels of his mother suspicious suicide.

Andrea Scarface (played by the incomparable Victoria Abril) is a "reporter" with her own tabloid news show. She’s also a former psychologist and Ramón was one of her patients. She was also at one point Nicholas’s lover.

"I don't see myself on the catwalk. I want to be a prison matron."

Juana is Kika’s lesbian housekeeper, hired by Ramón after Kika and Ramón move in together. (He wasn’t really dead <just catatonic> and he awoke while she was putting on his makeup). Juana's brother is Pablo, a mentally deficient, escaped convict and former porn star. To spice things up even more, one these characters is a serial killer.

It’s off-the-wall, kooky, and incredibly funny. The situations are ridiculous (as if you couldn’t tell from my rundown of the characters) and the characters themselves are delightfully eccentric (well, mostly the women). In Kika, Almodóvar continues his habit of creating amazing female characters accompanied by rather flat male characters. The women are always the scene-stealers.

You have Kika, the flakey and well-intentioned makeup artist. There’s one scene where she’s getting raped and it’s not shocking, it’s not terrifying, but UTTERLY HILARIOUS. It’s a very vulgar brand of humor that works perfectly in an Almodóvar film.

"The least you can do if you rape people left and right is to wear one."

Next you have Andrea Scarface (who’s just a piece of work). Victoria Abril is brilliant, even in Andrea’s outlandish costumes. She is a woman committed to her work, willing to do anything (and I mean ANYTHING) for an interview and to get the scoop. She even has an outfit custom-tailored with a camera helmet and breast spotlights perfect for reporting on the go.