Learning the Spanish language with a course at Babylon Idiomas is great! However, when your language course finishes, you need to find ways to keep practising your newly acquired Spanish skills, especially if you’re not living in Spain. One of the ways in which you can do this is by watching Spanish language movies (beginners can always put on the subtitles). Not only will this help with your pronunciation and help you get used to the speed that Spaniards talk but films set in Spain will also give you an insight into Spanish culture and history.

Introducing Pedro Almodóvar!

For those of you that don’t already know him, Almodóvar is the biggest film director to come out of Spain since Luis Buñuel. Many Almodóvar films focus on identity, desire and family relationships. His tragicomedy films have made him famous all over the world and he is renowned for his use of colour. I for one, am a huge fan of his work!

Here is a brief explanation of some of Almodóvar’s most successful films. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have….

 

• Volver (2006)

Starring Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura, two of Almodóvar’s favourites, Volver is the story of a mother and her struggle to fix situations out of her control. Her abusive husband is murdered by her daughter and covering up this incident leads to a number of dark family secrets being revealed. My favourite Almodóvar film and a definite must see!

 

• All About My Mother / Todo sobre mi madre (1999)

Starring Cecilia Roth, Todo sobre mi madre is a story about a mother whose son dies trying to get an actress’ autograph after a play. Manuela, the mother, then travels to Barcelona to track down the transvestite father and becomes involved in a caring for a nun with aids who is pregnant by a different transvestite named Lola. She also forms a working relationship with the actress her son adored. A complicated but enjoyable film which many would claim is Almodóvars best work.

 

• Talk to Her / Hable con ella (2002)

After a chance encounter at a theatre, two men, Benigno and Marco, meet at a private clinic where Benigno works. Lydia, Marco’s girlfriend and a bullfighter by profession, has had an accident and is in a coma. It so happens that Benigno is looking after another woman in a coma, Alicia, a young ballet student. The lives of the four characters will flow in all directions, past, present and future, dragging all of them towards an unsuspected destiny.

There are many more works that would come highly recommended including La mala education (Bad Education), Los abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces) and Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) which is a much earlier but very popular film starring Carmen Maura.

If you want more information on Pedro Almodóvar and his films click here.

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