Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Rating:
Summary: Terrific.......
Review: ......is this the only word I can think of to describe this film about women and how they get entanlged in all sorts as a result of their romantic pursuits. Actually, that's a lie. I can think of several more words such as witty, eccentric, fun, truthful and a very well done film indeed.

Pepa is pregnant by her dashing, unreliable, older lover, Ivan. A rat-bag he is indeed but very charming with it. She is trying to tell him but can't contact him because he is having an affair with her "feminist" lawyer acquaintance. Meanwhile she has the added problem of sheltering her young fugitive friend who got involved with terrorists and is now running from the law. But that's not all; she has Ivan's psychotic ex-wife baying for her blood, a couple viewing her flat and not only is one of them the son of her lover but the woman in the couple drinks the drugged gazpacho soup in the fridge intended for Ivan....

And just to make things even more complicated Pepa keeps running into a colourful taxi driver who likes to add a bit of modern enterprise to his business.

You'll either be charmed or put off by the quirkiness of this film but if you are the latter then stick with it; it really is very funny and entertaining stuff.

Very Almodovar; he really is a talented director and the actors aren't too bad either. Watch closely for Antonio Banderas in a pre-Hollywood. He looks really different.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Genius!!!
Review: All I can say is that this is the first film I actually laughed at!! It's brilliant!!! Wonderfully mad! I love this movie!!!

Rating:
Summary: From an Almodovar fan, "like a child with his new toy"
Review: casually, while shopping, i found this DVD in a store... i remember i saw this movie once, a long time ago...the price was fine, a whole new movie for my eyes, i took it home... what happened next, i can't explain by words: just put the disc on the player, turn on the tv and begin laughing, just from the overture to the end!!! The music is excellent, the ideal song for every moment on the movie... the caracters, from the main to the most secondary, has its whole story inside the movie... the camera shows everything important, even smallest details... and the story, classic from Almodovar: a lot of people, that appears to be distant and different from each other, join at the end, to make one of the funniest movies ever!! Only from Almodovar's mind can come a story so complicated to explain by words, so insane and desperating, but that makes you get into it, understand it, and love it. Well, that's my appreciation from "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios", in its original language, so i hope the translated version makes you feel the same

Rating:
Summary: Una Pelicula Fabulosa! Chistosa! y, Lista!
Review: Claro que si', Antonio Banderas es chistoso y listo en esta pelicula. Los actores se llevan bien. I loved it. It's a kick. and if you can follow every detail the first time through, more power to you. one of the delights of this movie is that you can see if several times, and you discover new connections each time. Intricate and fun.

Rating:
Summary: Clasica Favorita
Review: Esta pelicula la he visto más de 10 veces, tal vez descubras detalles las siguientes dos o tres veces que la veas, pero cuando detectas toda la trama, telaraña y relaciones entre las situaciones y personajes, es de admirar el genio de Pedro Almodovar para entretegerlo y presentarlo. La actuación en general, formidable. Una comedia que realmente vale la pena ver.

Rating:
Summary: A True Classic in International Cinema
Review: Filmed in the style of the screwball comedies of the 1950's, Pedro Almodovar's classic, "Women on the Verge of the Nervous Breakdown," is widely seen as the Spanish director's greatest directorial effort ever, due to his witty script, wonderful use of colors and schemes, and his ability to capture the range of emotions women possess.

The story, which revolves around a jilted woman (Carmen Maura in her final film collaboration with Almodovar) in search of her lover (Fernando Guillen) might sound like a melodrama at first, however if you mix in a bit of zany subplot and an array of classic characters, and you got yourself a comedy classic.

Pepa (Maura) finds out that her longtime lover Ivan has left her for another woman. Pepa, who works with Ivan dubbing foreign films into Spanish, discovers that she is expecting a child, and must convey this important message to Ivan in hopes of convincing him to return.

In her search for Ivan, she discovers that Ivan's ex-wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano) has been released from the asylum that has taken care of her since her breakup with Ivan. She also discovers that Ivan has a son (Antonio Banderas) she never was told about, and due to a series of coincidental encounters, they encounter each other.

Pepa doesn't seem to be the only person having love problems. Her best friend Candela (Maria Barranco) has discovered that her Arab boyfriend and his friends are actually Shiite terrorists planning to hijack the next flight to Stockholm. Scared, confused, and out of her mind, Candela finds refuge in Pepa's penthouse, and along with Pepa, Carlos (Banderas), and Carlos' fiance (Rossie de Palma), the madcap hysteria that will overtake the later half of the film takes place.

Using a wide selection of colors that benefit from the film's use of Technicolor, Almodovar has definitely creating a visual feats of patterns, objects (notice the clocks at the beginning), cityscapes (Madrid's famous skyline), and especially colors (as the main character, Pepa is identified by reds, which probably is Almodovar's tribute to American director Nicholas Ray and his famous use of Technicolor red in the classic "Rebel Without a Cause"). Other eye-catching objects that make this film truly wonderful include Candela's coffeepot earrings (they became a major fashion accessory in Spain and Latin America in the early 1990's) and the campy cab decor that the driver of the Mambo Taxi (Guillermo Montesinos) has adopted for his cab.

Almodovar also adopted a wide selection of beautiful and popular music and songs to tell his story. "Soy Infeliz," by Lola Beltran and "Puro Teatro," by La Lupe are eternal classics thanks to this film. His selection of the rarely heard, yet beautiful compositions by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov ("The Story of the Kalandar Prince" from Scheherezade-Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 AND the "Fandango Asturiano," from Capriccio Espagnol. Op. 34) gives the film both a feeling of relaxation and fiery anger.

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," marks a totally new direction in Spanish cinema. The end of the censorship that was widely well known during the Franco regime of the past allowed Almodovar and many new Spanish directors to explore filmmaking without any restrictions. This film, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 1989, went on to win many awards including several Goya awards (Spain's highest film awards) and Maura went on to win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Truly, this was her greatest role, and Almodovar knew that he wanted to give his audience a major overdose of Maura that the audience will likely beg for more. He was right, and Maura's performance is considered to be one of the greatest performances by non-English speaking actress in recent years.

If you're looking for an amazing, funny, and visual film, then "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is the best choice to fulfill your search. I have seen this movie over 30 times, and I can't get tired of it. It is a true cult classic, and it only illustrates the genius that Almodovar is.

Rating:
Summary: A True Classic in International Cinema
Review: Filmed in the style of the screwball comedies of the 1950's, Pedro Almodovar's classic, "Women on the Verge of the Nervous Breakdown," is widely seen as the Spanish director's greatest directorial effort ever, due to his witty script, wonderful use of colors and schemes, and his ability to capture the range of emotions women possess.

The story, which revolves around a jilted woman (Carmen Maura in her final film collaboration with Almodovar) in search of her lover (Fernando Guillen) might sound like a melodrama at first, however if you mix in a bit of zany subplot and an array of classic characters, and you got yourself a comedy classic.

Pepa (Maura) finds out that her longtime lover Ivan has left her for another woman. Pepa, who works with Ivan dubbing foreign films into Spanish, discovers that she is expecting a child, and must convey this important message to Ivan in hopes of convincing him to return.

In her search for Ivan, she discovers that Ivan's ex-wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano) has been released from the asylum that has taken care of her since her breakup with Ivan. She also discovers that Ivan has a son (Antonio Banderas) she never was told about, and due to a series of coincidental encounters, they encounter each other.

Pepa doesn't seem to be the only person having love problems. Her best friend Candela (Maria Barranco) has discovered that her Arab boyfriend and his friends are actually Shiite terrorists planning to hijack the next flight to Stockholm. Scared, confused, and out of her mind, Candela finds refuge in Pepa's penthouse, and along with Pepa, Carlos (Banderas), and Carlos' fiance (Rossie de Palma), the madcap hysteria that will overtake the later half of the film takes place.

Using a wide selection of colors that benefit from the film's use of Technicolor, Almodovar has definitely creating a visual feats of patterns, objects (notice the clocks at the beginning), cityscapes (Madrid's famous skyline), and especially colors (as the main character, Pepa is identified by reds, which probably is Almodovar's tribute to American director Nicholas Ray and his famous use of Technicolor red in the classic "Rebel Without a Cause"). Other eye-catching objects that make this film truly wonderful include Candela's coffeepot earrings (they became a major fashion accessory in Spain and Latin America in the early 1990's) and the campy cab decor that the driver of the Mambo Taxi (Guillermo Montesinos) has adopted for his cab.

Almodovar also adopted a wide selection of beautiful and popular music and songs to tell his story. "Soy Infeliz," by Lola Beltran and "Puro Teatro," by La Lupe are eternal classics thanks to this film. His selection of the rarely heard, yet beautiful compositions by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov ("The Story of the Kalandar Prince" from Scheherezade-Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 AND the "Fandango Asturiano," from Capriccio Espagnol. Op. 34) gives the film both a feeling of relaxation and fiery anger.

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," marks a totally new direction in Spanish cinema. The end of the censorship that was widely well known during the Franco regime of the past allowed Almodovar and many new Spanish directors to explore filmmaking without any restrictions. This film, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 1989, went on to win many awards including several Goya awards (Spain's highest film awards) and Maura went on to win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Truly, this was her greatest role, and Almodovar knew that he wanted to give his audience a major overdose of Maura that the audience will likely beg for more. He was right, and Maura's performance is considered to be one of the greatest performances by non-English speaking actress in recent years.

If you're looking for an amazing, funny, and visual film, then "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is the best choice to fulfill your search. I have seen this movie over 30 times, and I can't get tired of it. It is a true cult classic, and it only illustrates the genius that Almodovar is. The DVD edition contains English, French, and Spanish subtitles and the film's promotional trailers.

Rating:
Summary: classic almodovar
Review: hilarious, touching, classic almodovar, what more can i say?

Rating:
Summary: Watch it and tell your friends about it!
Review: Hollywood sure doesn't make movies like it used to. For instance, screwball comedies that immortalized the likes of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Katherine Hepburn in the 30s and 40s were abandoned after Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder stopped making them in the 60s. But no matter. That grand old wacky tradition continues; it just moved across the Atlantic to get updated with a European facelift at the hands of Pedro Almodovar.

So hop on your motorcycle with your granny or catch a cab, run to the grocery store, grab yourself a glass of gazpacho (hold the sleeping pills!) and watch this hilarious movie. Subtitles be damned, you'll love this no matter what! If you can watch this without huge belly laughs, you're simply not human!

Rating:
Summary: Timeless comedy from Spain
Review: I saw this in Madrid shortly after it was first released, and then later in its American release with subtitles. It is just fun, fun, fun. It is wacky and silly. Students of Spanish just love it. It's also good for teaching to give your students a heaping dose of Castillian Spanish! Don't deconstruct it, just enjoy it.