Pedro Almodovar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown established its director as one of the most exciting of European filmmaking talents. An often hilarious study of sexual mores,
the film has a central character, Pepa (Carmen Maura), as warm and richly drawn as any modern film heroine. Made strong and self-reliant by suffering within marriage, Pepa is the center of a
set of colorful characters who represent a vivid cross-section of Spanish society. Women on the Verge was a major international success for a director with a unique talent for exploring
the nuances of individual behavior.
Peter William Evans conducts a formidable analysis of Almodovar's insights into gender, sexuality and subjectivity. Drawing on a wide range of psychoanalytic and critical concepts, Evans sees
Women on the Verge as an account of the often tyrannical spell of sexual desire, of the anxieties of relationships and families, but also of the possibilities for personal liberation. He
discusses the recent history of Spain and ties the film's concerns into the social revolution that occurred after the death of Franco. Pedro Almodovar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown established its director as one of the most exciting of European filmmaking talents. An often hilarious study of sexual mores, the film has a central character, Pepa (Carmen
Maura), as warm and richly drawn as any modern film heroine. Made strong and self-reliant by suffering within marriage, Pepa is the center of a set of colorful characters who represent a vivid
cross-section of Spanish society. Women on the Verge was a major international success for a director with a unique talent for exploring the nuances of individual behavior.
Peter William Evans conducts a formidable analysis of Almodovar's insights into gender, sexuality and subjectivity. Drawing on a wide range of psychoanalytic and critical concepts, Evans sees
Women on the Verge as an account of the often tyrannical spell of sexual desire, of the anxieties of relationships and families, but also of the possibilities for personal liberation. He
discusses the recent history of Spain and ties the film's concerns into the social revolution that occurred after the death of Franco.
