All About Almodóvar: The Flower of My Secret

Taking a break from the hyperbole and sardonic irony typical of his wilder forays into absurdist comedy, Almodóvar’s The Flower of My Secret explores the life of romance novelist Leo Macias, a woman so self-hating, she develops one pseudonym solely to publicly attack the other. Giving us a glimpse into the boy who certainly sat cross-legged on his family room floor listening to his female relatives laugh, cry, kvetch and gossip, Almodóvar exhibits a dexterity of dialogue that could come only from a most keen observer of human behavior–including all the vitriol and, ultimately, forgiveness that comes with it. Those familiar with his later film Volver will giggle at the plot of Leo’s discarded “black” novel, The Freezer, while true Pedro fans will recognize her friend Betty’s vocation as a precursor to a sub-plot in his later, Oscar-winning All About My Mother. Dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 1995, DCP, 103 min.