¡Átame! (1990)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writers:

Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay)
Pedro Almodóvar (story)

Release Date:

12 April 1990 (Argentina)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A love story...with strings attached!

Plot:

Ricky is released from a mental hospital, and knows exactly what he wants to do. He hunts down Marina...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Mental Hospital | Hospital | Rope | Desire

Awards:

6 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Victoria Abril	...	Marina Osorio
Antonio Banderas	...	Ricky
Loles León	...	Lola
Julieta Serrano	...	Alma
María Barranco	...	Médica
Rossy de Palma	...	Camello en Vespa
Francisco Rabal	...	Máximo Espejo
Lola Cardona	...	Directora psiquiátrico
Montse G. Romeu	...	Periodista
Emiliano Redondo	...	Decorador
Oswaldo Delgado	...	Fantasma
Concha Rabal	...	Farmacéutica
Alberto Fernández	...	Productor
José María Tasso	...	Anciano psiquiátrico
Angelina Llongueras	...	Montadora

Also Known As:

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (USA)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for scene of strong adult sensuality with nudity.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Italy:VM18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) | USA:X (original rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Barajas, Madrid, Spain

Company:

El Deseo S.A.

Trivia:

One of the films that was instrumental in bringing about the introduction of the NC-17 rating in the U.S., as the film's distributor took the MPAA to court over the X certification it had initially been designated.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Satanasa

people don't get the irony

I'm amazed that people don't get the irony underlying this film. If you've seen other, earlier Almodovar films, you'll know that he explores sexual situations that come emanate from all sorts of crazy situations (think of Law of Desire (1987), for example, in which Banderas plays a man exploring his homosexuality). But what makes this film so great is that, unlike Almodovar's other films, it attempts to explore the nature of the "conventional," heterosexual matrix which, through Almodovar's eyes, becomes completely nonsensical. Indeed, the relationship between Marina and Ricky is meant, ultimately, to be a parody of how such relationships work, as if heterosexuality (and its consequence, marriage) are almost inevitably equivalent in character to the infamous Stockholm syndrome. The final twist of the film, mistakenly hated for its apparently patriarchal overtones, is in fact a humorous subversion of conventional sexual politics. `You're crazy! Love a man who kidnaps you and ties you up? Is that normal?' exclaims Marina's sister. Well, actually, yes, according to Almodovar, it's completely normal. When viewed with irony (most viewers seem to have a bad case of literal disease when it comes to this film), this movie is a devastating critique of modern heterosexuality. Note that the trio sing the Spanish version of "I will survive" at the very end, when everything has supposedly worked out, in Candide fashion, for the best...