{"id":620,"date":"2013-03-14T15:27:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T14:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/?p=620"},"modified":"2013-03-15T09:19:19","modified_gmt":"2013-03-15T08:19:19","slug":"almodovars-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/2013\/03\/14\/almodovars-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Almod\u00f3var\u2019s Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Carmen<\/a>

Carmen Maura in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown<\/p><\/div>\n

Would you like to discover Pedro Almod\u00f3var\u2019s unique vision of Madrid? I am one of those firm believers that his films would be very different if he\u2019d gone to live to another city. Madrid is essential for understanding Pedro Almod\u00f3var’s films; the city has become one of his main characters, something the director has said in the past: \u201cThis city has always provided me with the perfect scenery and suitable fauna (sassy and ideal) for each and every one of my films\u201d.
\n<\/p>\n

Although his latest film, which recently premiered in Spain, takes place mostly inside a plane, Madrid still manages to have a little role in the shape of the emblematic Viaduct. A place that most Madrilenians associate with suicide (Paz Vega\u2019s character shows us why), the Viaduct is an example of 1930s Rationalist style. since 1942, when it was completed, lies between Las Vistillas and the Royal Palace.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time the director uses this landmark in his films. You will also spot it in Matador<\/em> (1986), a melodrama about death in all its forms, and in Broken Embraces<\/em> (2009), in which the main character lived right next door. In I’m So Excited<\/em>\u00a0you can see it from all angles, and that\u2019s all I’m going to say\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Paz<\/a>

Paz Vega in I’m So Excited<\/p><\/div>\n

But let\u2019s got back to the beginning. It\u2019s the late 1960s and a very young Pedro Almod\u00f3var has just landed in Madrid, the city he had dreamed of for so long. He arrived on the road to Extremadura, but the city he saw was very different to the one he had always imagined. From the stories his mother had told him, he\u2019d pictured in his mind a Mecca of modernity, a city of opportunities. He himself has said that he expected walking the streets of Madrid to be like strolling onto the set of Sissi, The Young Empress<\/em>. However, although that was far from how he actually felt on that first day, over time he discovered that the city allowed his imagination to run wild and his name was soon known around the world.<\/p>\n

Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap<\/em> (1980) could never have lived anywhere else. Tiro, crown prince of the fictitious Tir\u00e1n, travels to the Labyrinth of Passions<\/em> (1982) that Madrid had become during the early 1980s. Law of Desire<\/em> (1987) can only be understood in the context of the Movida movement. Becky del P\u00e1ramo returns from Mexico to face her Madrid past in High Heels<\/em> (1991), although she finds herself in is very different to what she remembers:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My God, the city has really changed!<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are parts you\u2019re not even going to recognise.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What really worries me is that the city won\u2019t recognise me.<\/p>\n

Even the slight betrayal of All about My Mother<\/em> (1999) stems from the main character\u2019s need to escape from Madrid after the tragic death of her son, who was run over by a car next to the Fine Arts Circle<\/a> as he chased after his favourite actress for her autograph.<\/p>\n

In his earlier films, the locations were not easily recognizable. There was no sign of the Gran V\u00eda, Plaza Mayor, the Hapsburg district or the Puerta de Alcal\u00e1 gate. Yet the city was always there, one could almost smell it. Madrid, described by the lead in Labyrinth of Passion<\/em> as \u201cthe most exciting city in the world\u201d, has become more sophisticated with time, at the same pace as Almod\u00f3var\u2019s films.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Flower of My Secret<\/p><\/div>\n

Here are just some of the landmarks from his movies:<\/p>\n

La Bobia<\/strong>: Seductive looks and lots of flirting in this caf\u00e9, now known as Wooster (Duque de Alba, 3), which lies in the area of the Rastro (flea market). Legendary spot of the movida<\/em> and an essential part of Labyrinth of Passion<\/em>, it is the stage for the opening scene of the film and for the torrid meeting between the two leading characters, played by Imanol Arias and Cecilia Roth. Fabio McNamara, one of the key characters of that time, also makes an appearance here.<\/p>\n

Barracks of Conde Duque <\/strong><\/a>(Conde Duque, 9): \u201cWater me! Don\u2019t be shy!\u201d It\u2019s one of his most renowned scenes. The character played by Carmen Maura asks a municipal worker to provide some respite from the suffocating summer heat in Law of Desire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Montalb\u00e1n, 7<\/strong>: <\/strong>Pepa (Carmen Maura) shares her attic with rabbits, hens and other animals in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown<\/em>. The Gran V\u00eda skyline with the high-rise Telef\u00f3nica building can be seen in the background.<\/p>\n

Villa-Rosa<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Plaza de Santa Ana, 15): Miguel Bos\u00e9 becomes Almod\u00f3var\u2019s most desirable muse in High Heels<\/em>. Judge Dom\u00ednguez by day and Femme Lethal by night, he leads a double life. After dark she brings the house down with her performances at this legendary flamenco bar, which has been part of the Madrid nightlife since the 1920s.<\/p>\n

Plaza del Alamillo, 5<\/strong>: Although no one realises it, in High Heels<\/em> Becky del P\u00e1ramo (Marisa Paredes) returns to Madrid to die. Despite being a celebrity she decides to spend her last days in the basement where she grew up with her parents, caretakers of the estate.<\/p>\n

Teatro Mar\u00eda Guerrero<\/strong><\/a>: Becky del P\u00e1ramo (Marisa Paredes) mimes Piensa en m\u00ed<\/em> (sung by Luz Casal), in a very dramatic scene, which her daughter (Victoria Abril) hears from jail.<\/p>\n

Plaza de Puerta de Moros<\/strong>: Ankle boots which are too tight and the despair felt at not being able to remove them; an exact reflection of Leo\u2019s mood. The writer, played by Marisa Paredes, steps out onto the street and in vain asks passersby to help her take her shoes off in The Flower of My Secret<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Plaza Mayor<\/strong><\/a>: A few drinks too many and a dance in one of the most emblematic spots in Madrid. Juan Echanove shares his moves with Marisa Paredes in The Flower of My Secret<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Puerta de Alcal\u00e1<\/strong><\/a>: \u201cPush, push, push<\/em>\u201d Pilar Bardem shouts at Pen\u00e9lope Cruz to push moments before giving birth on a public bus in Live Flesh<\/em>. It\u2019s the Christmas of 1970 and Madrid is deserted. Through the window, the Santa Cruz palace, the Metr\u00f3polis building and the Puerta de Alcal\u00e1 flash by.<\/p>\n

Prado, 2<\/strong>: Alicia (Leonor Watling) dances while Benigno (Javier C\u00e1mara) spies on her through the window in Talk to Her<\/em>. The ballet school Katerina Biloba (Geraldine Chaplin) worked at is today\u2019s Room Mate Alicia<\/a> hotel (which takes its name from the character).<\/p>\n

Terminal 4 in Barajas Airport<\/strong>: In Volver<\/em>, Pen\u00e9lope Cruz works as a cleaner in the newest part of Madrid\u2019s airport.<\/p>\n

Chicote<\/strong><\/a>: A few gin & tonics and a confession. Blanca Portillo\u2019s character tells us her secret story in one of Broken Embraces\u2019 main scenes. This legendary cocktail bar on Gran V\u00eda has welcomed celebrities from all over the world. In fact, if the walls of Chicote could talk, they would tell us how Ava Gardner seduced famous bullfighter Luis Miguel Domingu\u00edn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Would you like to discover Pedro Almod\u00f3var\u2019s unique vision of Madrid? I am one of those firm believers that his films would be very different if he\u2019d gone to live to another city. Madrid is essential for understanding Pedro Almod\u00f3var’s films; the city has become one of his main characters, something the director has said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[83,84,82,85],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":631,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}