The Flower of My Secret (1995)

The Flower of My Secret (1995). 1h 43m | R

“Sweet, and very well acted. This is much less wild and outrageous than earlier Almodovar, but compensates by having more real emotion. Still, this has two of his usual key elements — dramatic use of intense color, and a melodramatic, almost soapy, story. Itu0026#39;s clear he loves melodrama at the same time he gently pokes fun at it. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut in u0026#39;Flower of My Secretu0026#39; the soap has more underpinnings in humanity, with subtler behavior and humor. Technically he gets even better with this film. Itu0026#39;s beautiful, shot in a more subdued style than his earlier work. Not a great movie, but a good, entertaining, human one that paves the way to his later fully u0026#39;realu0026#39; and moving masterpieces like u0026#39;Talk to Heru0026#39;. Lovely performances.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere seem to be two distinct groups among Almodovar fans. Those who prefer his earlier, wilder, more genre busting work, and those who prefer his more recent, subtler films. Iu0026#39;m in the second group, but can completely understand those who feel differently. And where you fall on that scale is likely to have a big impact on your reaction to this film.”