Week 6 (Part 2): Talk to Her (2002)

Before I get into the film itself, I want to preface by saying that this is one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Period. You don’t even have to like Almodóvar or be familiar with his previous work to enjoy this magnificent exploration of the human condition. I absolutely love it. I don’t even think I’m impartial enough to see anything wrong with it. It’s flawless. On that note, I think it’s the perfect film to end my cinematic journey into the canon of one Pedro Almodóvar. (For now).

For this blog’s fateful conclusion, we flash-forward almost a decade from Kika to find a very different Almodóvar. In these recent years, he’s shown a departure from his earlier genres and tones. Talk to Her feels different because it’s a more mature Almodóvar—one that’s aged quite well. 

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.