4 Things You Need to Know about Pedro Almodóvar

Celebrated as one of Spain’s foremost filmmakers, Pedro Almodóvar is lauded as a master of contemporary cinema. His impressive catalogue of work tells universal stories strongly influenced by Spanish popular culture, and is known for being colourful, camp, transgressive and most of all, autobiographical.

This September, we’re publishing Almodóvar: A Retrospective to coincide with his 75th birthday. This lavishly illustrated book, written by Pau Gómez, provides unique insight into Almodóvar’s major films. It also contains unseen archive and behind-the-scenes stills guaranteed to delight any cinephile, providing an insider’s perspective on Almodóvar’s legendary career to date.

In this spirit, we decided to take a closer look at his remarkable career. Here are four things you need to know about Pedro Almodóvar:

1. His film-making career was delayed by the Francoist dictatorship 
‘Super-8 was really my only school’ – Pedro Almodóvar 

Born in 1949, Almodóvar always knew that he wanted to tell stories. His earliest memories were of sitting with his mother’s friends hearing all the local gossip; his work is clearly influenced by the iconography and traditions of the society in which he was immersed.

However, his film-making career was delayed by the Francoist dictatorship. Aged just 18, he moved to Madrid in the hope of attending the Spanish film school. However, it had been declared a hotbed of communism and closed, forcing Almodóvar to take a different direction. But he stayed connected to his dream by attending underground theatre groups, founding a cult punk-glam duo, and making short films on a Super-8 camera – all while working as an administrative assistant at Telefonica.

When the regime fell, his career flourished. He became a leading voice in La Movida Madrileña, a cultural earthquake that followed the end of Francoist Spain. He shot his first feature-length film in 1978, aged just 29, and it was quickly followed by Pepi, Luci, Bom y Otras Chicas del Montón (1980; Pepi, Luci, Bom, and Other Girls like Mom). Many of Almodóvar’s early works were inspired by the movement and use camp, melodrama and dark humour to explore themes of transgression, desire and identity.

2. His work and his professional life are a family business 
‘I learned a lot from my mother, without either of us being aware of it’ – Pedro Almodóvar 

Whether you’re an avid fan or a casual consumer, it’s clear to see that his mother – and his great affection and respect for the women in his life – feature prominently in Almodóvar’s work. As a child, he spent a lot of time with his mother, Francisca Caballero, and her friends.

One of his notable memories was his mother’s small business, a letter-writing service run from her home for illiterate neighbours which she adorned with embroidery. Almodóvar noticed his mother’s wavering between fact and fiction, adding her own flourishes in both the reading and writing of letters, to please the reader and make people feel loved. While Almodóvar admonished this choice, he also began to appreciate the blurred lines between fiction and reality in his own work.

Caballero is a regular presence in many of his films, and it’s no coincidence that his most celebrated movies – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), All About My Mother (1999) and Volver (2006) – all feature characters heavily inspired by his mother. In fact, All About My Mother won an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe and is lauded as one of the most moving melodramas of the last few decades, as well as a heartfelt tribute to mother-son relationships.

He’s also captivated by sibling relationships, and maintains a close tie with his brother, Agustín Almodóvar. Agustín has appeared in almost all of Almodóvar’s films, has held producer roles on many, and was the co-founder of Almodóvar’s film production company El Deseo, which was established in 1986.

3. His work is intrinsically linked with his love for Spain 
‘Red always appears … In Spanish culture, it is also the colour of passion, blood and fire’ – Pedro Almodóvar 

Almodóvar’s filmography and Spanish idiosyncrasy are intrinsically linked. Famously, he has always refused – despite many offers from Hollywood – to set a film outside of his own country. His vision has always been linked to Spain, saying in 2016: ‘My references are all about Spain and where I come from, and thankfully I’m also understood outside my country. I don’t ever think about audiences in the UK or the US.’

This influence is evident in all his work, but particularly so in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which is notable for being saturated in the colour red: Pepa’s dress, the telephone, the gazpacho laced with sleeping pills. In reference to this, Almodóvar said: ‘in Spanish culture, [red] is also the colour of passion, blood and fire.’

Until recently, all his films were in Spanish. However, his first English-language movie, The Room Next Door, is already making waves, winning the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and receiving an 18-minute standing ovation – one of the longest in recent memory according to The Guardian.

4. He develops close and long-lasting relationships with actors 
‘Shooting with him is anything but boring’ – Antonio Banderas 

As well as being widely respected and admired by his peers, Almodóvar is also known for developing close and long-lasting relationships with actors. He has an eye for emerging talent and has frequently collaborated with Spain’s most celebrated actors including Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura and Cecilia Roth.

Much of this comes down to Almodóvar’s sympathetic portrayals of women, as well as his gift for hiring comedic actors and giving them thoughtful, detailed and nuanced roles and scenes to work with. His respect as a filmmaker and his talent as a friend shine through in the frequency of his collaborations.

Penélope Cruz has starred in seven of his films, her first being Carne Trémula (1997; Live Flesh). Her most recent, Madres Paralelas (2021; Parallel Mothers) earned significant acclaim from critics. The story centres on the relationship between two single women who give birth on the same day, intertwined with an examination of the lasting influence of Spain’s Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

Antonio Banderas, who wrote the foreword for Almodóvar: A Retrospective, has starred in seven of his films, including the long-awaited La Piel Que Habito (2011; The Skin I Live In), a psychological thriller about a plastic surgeon who performs experiments on a woman he holds captive.

Almodóvar: A Retrospective is now available from Thames & Hudson.