Laberinto de pasiones (1982)

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writers:

Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay)
Pedro Almodóvar (story)

Release Date:

29 September 1982 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A camp melodrama/comedy about Sexilia (a nymphomaniac), Sadec (a gay Islamic terrorist), Riza Niro (the son of the emperor of Tiran)...

Plot Keywords:

Nymphomaniac | Drugs | Blow Job | Homosexual | Female Nudity

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Cecilia Roth	...	Sexilia
Imanol Arias	...	Riza Niro
Helga Liné	...	Toraya
Marta Fernández Muro	...	Queti
Fernando Vivanco	...	Doctor
Ofelia Angélica	...	Susana
Ángel Alcázar	...	Eusebio
Concha Grégori	...	Angustias
Cristina Sánchez Pascual	...	Eusebio's girlfriend
Fabio McNamara	...	Fabio (as Fany McNamara)
Antonio Banderas	...	Sadec
Luis Ciges	...	Drycleaner
Agustín Almodóvar	...	Hassan
María Elena Flores	...	Remedios
Ana Trigo	...	Nana

Also Known As:

Labyrinth of Passion (USA)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Hungary:18 | USA:Not Rated | Hong Kong:III | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alphaville S.A.

Trivia:

Made only six years after the death of Franco when Spain was beginning to rediscover its artistic freedom.

Quotes:

Fabio: [to Riza] I'll turn you into the queen of Halloween.

Movie Connections:

Features Enter the Dragon (1973)

Soundtrack:

Gran ganga

Labyrinth of Boredom

I happened upon a rare copy of this early Almodovar film with high expectations - Almodovar is a prolific contemporary director, I enjoyed his 1988 film "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", and I had read one or two very positive reviews of the film. Well, I must have missed completely the humor that the reviewers saw in this film. I just found it incoherent, tasteless, and boring. Yes, there are plenty of innuendos, people in drag, and crude sexual situations, and yes, these elements may have shocked audiences in 1982 (which was almost certainly Almodovar's intention), but much of the shock value has probably eroded over the years, leaving a limp storyline. Beyond that, the whole movie seemed very chaotic, none of the characters were particularly sympathetic, and for a "comedy" - even a dark one - I just didn't find this film funny. I suppose it is possible there is a VERY select audience for a film like this, but I'm just not part of that audience, and not sure that I want to be.