Pedro Almodovar is a lot like Woody Allen. He delights in neurotic characters (that border on annoying sometimes) and he loves his muses. But unlike Allen, Almodovar happily delves into the realms of camp and revels in it, and it is only from his second coming - All About My Mother - that he reigns it in enough to create a broader appeal that's more accessible to the non-camp inclined.
This movie, which he filmed before the first high point in his career (that would be the manic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), is pure camp, being about a gay playwright who has to juggle a "straight" ex, a straight-turned-gay stalker, and a tranny sister. The opening scene itself is enough to have the movie banned in Singapore, featuring a hot guy being told to simulate gay sex (by himself) while being filmed.
As opposed to the other early Almodovar works, the plot for Desire is actually more coherent, though still way out there. But that's besides the point. The joy of watching an Almodovar movie is predominantly laughing at and with his fantastic characters, and savoring his cinematography, with his trademark bright colors and his ability to capture the seedier and more sordid sides of Spain. Unfortunately, this isn't one of his more colorful movies, with regards to both characters and scenes.
Desire features two of Almodovar's first muses, Antonio Banderas, and Carmen Maura, both of whom perform well. Banderas, in his natural pre-Hollywood fame state, smoulders dangerously as the sexually-confused stalker, and Maura, already a seasoned vet of Almodovar movies by then, brings in the balance of camp and pathos that I'm sure Almodovar wanted for her role, in which she's a woman playing a woman who used to be a man.
It was an enjoyable watch for me, since I've always loved especially Almodovar's brand of camp, but Desire definitely lacks the polish of his later works.
This movie, which he filmed before the first high point in his career (that would be the manic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), is pure camp, being about a gay playwright who has to juggle a "straight" ex, a straight-turned-gay stalker, and a tranny sister. The opening scene itself is enough to have the movie banned in Singapore, featuring a hot guy being told to simulate gay sex (by himself) while being filmed.
As opposed to the other early Almodovar works, the plot for Desire is actually more coherent, though still way out there. But that's besides the point. The joy of watching an Almodovar movie is predominantly laughing at and with his fantastic characters, and savoring his cinematography, with his trademark bright colors and his ability to capture the seedier and more sordid sides of Spain. Unfortunately, this isn't one of his more colorful movies, with regards to both characters and scenes.
Desire features two of Almodovar's first muses, Antonio Banderas, and Carmen Maura, both of whom perform well. Banderas, in his natural pre-Hollywood fame state, smoulders dangerously as the sexually-confused stalker, and Maura, already a seasoned vet of Almodovar movies by then, brings in the balance of camp and pathos that I'm sure Almodovar wanted for her role, in which she's a woman playing a woman who used to be a man.
It was an enjoyable watch for me, since I've always loved especially Almodovar's brand of camp, but Desire definitely lacks the polish of his later works.