SYNOPSICS
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios" (1988) is a Spanish movie. Pedro Almodóvar has directed this movie. Carmen Maura,Antonio Banderas,Julieta Serrano,Rossy de Palma are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1988. Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios" (1988) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
Pepa's lover, Iván, leaves her and she tries to contact him to find out why he's left. In her search for Iván, she confronts his wife and son, who are as clueless as she is. Meanwhile, Candela, her friend, is afraid the police might be looking for her because of her ex-boyfriend, a muslim terrorist, and his criminal activities. As the plot develops, it is revealed that everyone's lives are more intertwined than they could have ever expected.
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Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios" (1988) Reviews
"Ask her who the hell is Ivan!" "Who the hell is Ivan?"
There are some movies that, no matter how good the translation, are just impossible for a particular audience to get. This is why I think most of the American audience wasn't be able to get into WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. After directing the rather weak and disappointing drama/thriller LAW OF DESIRE, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar returned to screens in his full glory with this wonderful Academy Award-nominated screwball comedy. Pepa (Almodovar regular Carmen Maura) works as an actress for TV commercials and dubbing of foreign films. Her lover Ivan (Fernando Guillen), who shares the same job, decides to leave her one day for unknown reasons, leading Pepa to assume he left with his wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano), who was recently released from the mental hospital. But after a while, Pepa realizes Lucia thinks the exact opposite, and that Ivan left for an unknown third woman. While on her quest to find this third woman, Pepa has to deal with her nervous friend Candela (Maria Barranco) who recently found out her boyfriend is a wanted terrorist and Carlos, (Antonio Banderas) Ivan's son whose annoying fiancé ends up getting accidentally knocked off by a rather lethal gazpacho. Going any further with this film's plot would be unfair since most of the humor is delivered from it's many twists and turns. Almodovar was able to write a script so sharp with so many colorful characters and situations that the entire thing goes down with pure laughter. But is everyone laughing? That brings me to the answer as to why many people didn't find this funny at all. If you don't speak or understand Spanish, (or some other language that comes from Latin) you won't be able to get this film as much as others. There is a reason why so many American comedians are never able to make it overseas: Humor is simply not international. The rumored but thankfully never completed American remake of this would have never worked. The performances for example: To people who understand the language, you can tell when the characters are being ironic, sarcastic, goofy, or serious. I don't think you can do that very well when English is your first language. So the users that have been complaining about "flat" performances might be already explained. Almodovar has been accused of being a feminist, and this movie might be the main reason. I don't quite agree with that because WOMEN doesn't really leave strong message. If it does, I know few people who would actually care for it because this movie is hilarious. Every single character in these 90 minutes of absurdity gets well-balanced and get enough amount of time to shine: The MAMBO TAXI driver for example, turns out to be one of the funniest elements. The scenes all by themselves are already OK, but the frequency that they happen make them somehow even funnier. And the first-rate acting gets a big plus in my book. Everyone here is perfect (including a very scary way Almodovar coaches a good performance out of Antonio Banderas) with the true stand-out being Carmen Maura as over-the-top neurotic Pepa. It is a shame this was Maura's last collaboration with Almodovar. But WOMAN's style is also not to be ignored: Most of the movie is set inside Pepa's apartment, which is put to good use. It is an amazing then-futuristic-looking retro set that with it's sitcom-like camp and artificial looking painted backgrounds becomes almost a character itself. Cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine's camera is always up to interesting moves: There is the tracking shot of Pepa's feet as she walks in circles waiting for her call, or the reflection take from the answering machine. The work with colors is equally stunning, with the main colors being yellow and blue, and Pepa's red dress "over coloring" the environments around her for most of the time. You could freeze frame almost every interior shot of WOMEN... and stare at it for a while. I can't really recommend this movie enough, as much as hard it is to review comedies. Reviewing a comedy is a tough call since it depends on weather you found the material funny or not. I have seen this over ten times and I always laugh at certain moments which I don't want to spoil. Let's just say the Jehovah's testimony and the TV commercial are the parts that always get me. I certainly did enjoy WOMEN... more than any other comedy I have ever seen. (5/5)
Film genius!
This is in my opinion the greatest Almodovar film ever! Its funny and serious, but mainly farscical, but its brilliant. Carmen Maura steals the show as a woman close to the edge, but her performance is fully backed up by all the rest of the cast. Antonio Banderas performance is excellent as a geeky young man, with his girlfriend and mother also shining. It combines all the elements of American comedy of the sixties but brings it back at us with a touch of latin spirit. This film in my opinion is a gem, for anyone who wants to laugh!
Beware of the Gazpacho
"Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios," or "Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown" is one of Pedro Almodovar's funniest films in which a young woman's world is falling apart at the seams. Pepa Marco (Carmen Maura)discovers that her lover Ivan (Fernando Guillen) has left her (Leaving a message on her answering machine). She also finds out that she's pregnant. It seems that things can't possibly get any worse. But of course, she's wrong. Trying to figure out why her lover left her, she contacts his ex-wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano), who is a bit unbalanced herself. She also finds out that Ivan and Lucia had a son name Carlos (Antonio Banderas)who, along with his fiancé Marissa (Rossy de Palma)visit Pepa to sublease her apartment. Then there is her friend Candela (Marisa Barranco), who is on the run when she finds out her lover is a terrorist who is planning to hijack a plane bound for Stockholm, and that she fears that the police will be after her. Soon, Pepa has some serious problems. Lucia is convinced that Ivan is still involved with her, and the police show up at her door. The only thing she can do is offer her guests a nice cup of gazpacho. Trouble is, she had spiked the spicy concoction with sleeping pills (Which had already put Marissa to sleep). To make matters worse, Lucia takes off after Ivan after learning that he is at the airport with his new love, about to take off to Stockholm! Will Pepa get to her former love in time to stop Lucia from killing him? Great entry in Almodovar's filmography and its as spicy as the drugged gazpacho!
Outstanding in Spanish, however...
I have seen several Almodovar films and this is far and away my favorite. The acting is marvelous in the original Spanish, especially Maria Barranco as Candela, and a young Antonio Banderas in his pre-US fame days. However, if you obtain the DVD version of this movie, resist the temptation to use the English-dubbed soundtrack. Sadly, the English version is just not funny. The readings are flat and uninspired, and the translation is not always accurate; too literal in some cases, just missing the point in others. It appears that the English dialog was written more for a close match with the lip movements than for precise translation. Instead, use the Castilian Spanish audio track and savor the beautiful performances. If you don't understand the language, read the English subtitles, which are more appropriately translated, and still enjoy the original.
Tight as a drum
What I like most about this movie is the economy of it's writing and directing. There really isn't a wasted moment, nothing extraneous and that is what keeps the pace crackling and makes the movie watchable in every moment. It also has one of the GREAT ensembles ever. Carmen Maura as Pepa keeps herself on that verge for an hour and a half without ever really falling off the edge, it is a beautifully modulated performance. Maria Barranco as Candela is another performance that teeters on the edge of falling off into an emotional rubble but somehow manages to keep it together. Those two are delightful in every moment they are on screen. We can't forget Julieta Serrano as Lucia, the one truly crazy, post-breakdown woman in the story who brings a quality of self-awareness to her role that makes it a bit heartbreaking. She knows she is nuts and can't do a damn thing about it. And then there is VERY strangely attractive Rossy de Palma as Marisa, a virgin who needs nothing so much as she just needs to get laid to mellow her out. These women are all superlative, but Guillermo Montesinos as the Taxi Driver nearly steals the movie out from everyone and gives certainly the best male performance in the film. You have to see him to believe him.