Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writers:

Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay)
Pedro Almodóvar (story)

Release Date:

27 October 1980 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Almodovar's first film of life in Madrid during the punk era and not one for the squeamish. He covers everything from drugs and sexual violence...

Plot Keywords:

Punk | Drugs | Violence | Marriage | Midnight Movie

Cast

Carmen Maura	...	Pepi
Félix Rotaeta	...	El policía / su hermano gemelo
Olvido Gara	...	Bom (as Alaska)
Eva Siva	...	Luci (Luciana)
Concha Grégori	...	Charito, la vecina de Luci
Kiti Manver	...	La chica que es modelo y cantante pero no una puta
Cecilia Roth	...	Chica del anuncio 'Bragas Ponte'
Julieta Serrano	...	Mujer vestida como Escarlata O'Hara
Cristina Sánchez Pascual	...	Mujer barbuda
José Luis Aguirre
Carlos Tristancho
Eusebio Lázaro
Fabio McNamara	...	Roxy
Assumpta Serna		(as Assumpta Rodes)
Blanca Sánchez

Also Known As:

Pepi, Luci, Bom
Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (International: English title)
Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap
Pepi, Luci, Bom and the Other Girls

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Italy:VM18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Fígaro Films

Trivia:

The £20,000 budget was raised largely from Pedro Almodóvar's friends.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Se eida...: I Kaiti, i Loucy kai i Bom (#1.13)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Estaba escrito

Almodóvar's films

The first feature film from Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar is controversial and shocking, especially the time it was made (although not that shocking in Spain), but also very funny. Basically it is a movie about nothing, although it shows a pop-culture that Almodóvar inhabited.

We see how Pepi (Carmen Maura) is raped by a policeman (Félix Rotaeta) after she offers sex, although tries to back out, so he would not report her illegal cannabis plants. Pepi seeks revenge and she lets her friends beat the guy up. It seems they have beaten his twin brother so Pepi must come up with another plan. She tries this through the policeman's wife named Luci (Eva Siva) who turns out to be a masochist, perfect for Pepi's friend Bom (Olvido Gara) who likes to disparage her.

A film about nothing really, like I said. There are some nice little jokes here, sometimes because they are quite unexpected and therefore shocking. When Luci turns out to be what she is it is Bom who pees all over her; Luci likes it a lot. May be it is shocking, it is pretty funny too. There are more gags like this. One of the best moments is when Pepi has to make her own money, her father has cut her off, and she has an idea of producing menstruating dolls.

Filled with things like this, a sloppy editing and a cinematography that is as good as any amateur would do it can not prevent that this film is simply entertaining. It is not too long and therefore we can finish it. Still, I would start with another Almodóvar film, then see this only as an interesting debut.