High Heels (1991)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Released internationally as 'High Heels', the actual title of this Pedro Almodóvar comedy translates as 'Distant Heels', an idea of significance towards the end of the film as events take a sharp dramatic turn. Whatever the case, summing up what exactly this film is about is not easy as it is an unpredictable ride throughout (in the best sort of way) with lots of surprise revelations and plot twists and turns; the characters also often do what we least expect of them. In short, the film might be best thought of as Almodóvar's take on 'Autumn Sonata' - which even gets explicitly mentioned - as the plot focuses on a successful television news anchor and her resentment of her diva mother who traumatised her as a child. As the plot unfolds, we learn that she married one of her mother's former beaus. Did she do it for revenge or to humiliate her mother or was it simply a coincidence? As the plot thickens and something happens to her husband, even further questions arise with regards to her intentions, and it is perhaps best not to say more to avoid ruining a fresh experience of the film. While the narrative sometimes feels all over the place and not everything that occurs is especially credible (especially the jail that seems more like a summer camp!), the film has an undeniable charm to it. Miguel Bosé also has one surefire interesting character that raises questions about personal identity and role-playing, which is part of what the film is about: the two female protagonists coming to accept their roles of mother and daughter, career aspirations and other concerns aside.

Like a multilayered cake, filled with delicious flavors and rainbow colors that satisfy the palate and the eyes, this film is so round and perfect that it's impossible to think it could have been better.I saw it when it came out and tonight I saw it again for the second time, the impression was as fresh and fulfilling as the first time around. The acting of both Marisa Paredes and Victoria Abril are true tour de force performances, something to be seen to believe it, although everybody in this film is picture perfect. The cinematography, the editing, the acting, the sets, the music and the wardrobe, all top drawer.There are not as many humorous scenes here as in other Almodovar films, but they are as accomplished as any he has done before, and it must be very unfortunate for non Spanish speaking audiences because most of the humor is spoken, something totally untranslatable in subtitles, and that is something palpably noticed when reading some of the other reviews, that missed completely the totally Spanish flavor and humor.Marisa Paredes must have been something out of this world as a young woman because even here, in some close ups the perfection of her features are breathtaking and as an actress I'm convinced she must be one of the great ones, just incredible.Bibi Andersen (the tallest woman in the jail scenes) was at the time the best known female impersonator in Spain and he/she looks really stunning with a figure that any woman would gladly kill to have.I adore Almodovar film making, so to me this is his best film ever, but then I think the same about all the rest of his cinematography.

An interesting mystery plot that is made a special film due to Almodovar's unique style of directing, his obsessions, his actresses and, maybe, above all the music investment.A District Attorney who performs queen-shows, a daughter in the shade of her mother's glory, a mother under the pressure of her own glory, both involved with the same man (who is involved with other women as well), a different aspect of the TV and a different use of the TV-set. In addition two incredible songs "Un ano de amor" and "Piensa en mi".

Great stuff here from Mr Almodovar, with Victoria Abril in full effect. The result is a technicolour rollercoaster of a film. And they all break into song and dance too, way before Woody Allen tried it.Strange that this film is so little shown, given the popularity both of the earlier "Women on the Verge..." and the recent "All About My Mother". If you can catch it at the cinema, all the better because the pace and colour is quite dazzling.