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 | Female Nudity | Drugs | Sex | Homosexual

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 | 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:

Although made in 1982, this wasn't released in the UK until 1993.

Movie Connections:

Features Live Fast, Die Young (1958)

Soundtrack:

Suck It to Me

Anecdotal...

In his two first movies (and I would count the third one too -Entre Tinieblas-) Almodóvar was more a kind of outsider, someone who needed to express himself freely in a country that had suffered a Dictatorship for almost 40 years. Neither "Pepi, Luci..." nor "Laberinto de pasiones" tell any story in particular, at least none that's interesting. They're rather a collection of gags and sketches that are meant to scandalize and to drive up the wall all that right-winged people. Almodovar uses topics such as incest, gay power, Islamic terrorism, drugs abuse... 100% punk attitude, basically. And though Spain is much more liberal nowadays some of the passages of Almodovar's first movies couldn't be accepted by the society. How come? Well, because of the "political correction" stuff (isn't it some kind of censorship too?? I mean, self-censorship).

Anyway, this movies have to be understood in the right context (just like John Water's first films). If you don't take that into account you'd better go and watch any other thing.

5.5/10