I can't recall how much I'd been fascinated by Mediterrenean culture until I watched an old film by Pedro Almodovar the other day. Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios is its title and I was not disappointed. The bright colours of the actresses' dresses and their excessively stylised acting are probably Almodovar's intention to highlight the melodramatic overtone. For some reason, I was not appalled by his use of melodrama as it's self-reflexive, parodying its own appearance while managing to get their points across -- unlike those dramas on Thai television which are not wary of their powerful effect in dumbing down the audience.
My first impression is how these actresses have lives, how their emotion and passion make them human. They have fears, desires, and other powerful feelings such as arrogance and rage -- all of these are incurred by their tendency to fall in love with wrong men. Coincidences abound; needless to say that Almodovar probably takes less care in making the whole plot believable than in creating a masterpiece of violent yet totally human emotion. One of the characters, I believe it's Lucia, brilliantly played by Julieta Serrano, reminds me of Iron Pussy in the eponymous film by Apichatpong. Like Iron Pussy, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios is a film that glorifies the marginalised gender and how they need to cope with the omnipotent system of patriarchy. They shine, nonetheless, even though they know that they are losing the battle, as most of the female characters are lovelorn or heartbroken. Yet, there's something beautiful in their choice to confront these uphill struggles of gender politics.
Compared with Almodovar's later films, this one may not have brilliant, perfect plots like Hable con ella or La mala educacion, but there's certainly something electrifying there.
There's an overly melodramatic song in this film -- 'Soy infeliz' is its title.
SOY INFELIZ
Lola Beltran
Soy infeliz porque se que no me quieres para que mas insistir
vive feliz si el amor que tu me diste para siempre resenti
soy infeliz porque se que no me quieres, piensas que ____ morir
que me sirvan otra trago, cantinero, yo los pago
pa' calmar este sufrir
vive feliz en tu mundo de ilusiones
no pienses mas en tu amor y tus traiciones
soy infeliz porque se que no me quieres, piensas que ____ morir
que me sirvan 4 tragos, cantinero, yo los pago
pa' calmar este sufrir
vive feliz en tu mundo de ilusiones
no pienses mas en tu amor y tus traiciones
soy infeliz porque se que no me quieres, piensas que ____ morir
que me sirvan otra trago, cantinero, yo los pago
pa' calmar este sufrir
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