The Flower of My Secret

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Year Released: 1995
Rating: 1.0

Abysmal Almodóvar picture with an aging writer positioned well past the verge of a nervous breakdown - she has already fallen off the cliff. The how's and why's are never really clear, and the picture is frustratingly elusive (for all the talking, little is said of consequence); the director has (unfortunately) dropped the sexual politics (inspired by Makavejev?) and soap opera crossed with softcore porn of his racier early work to the point of being completely ineffectual and bloated with self-importance. A temporary setback, though, if you think about it: Live Flesh (1997) and the Oscar-winning All About My Mother (1999) showed a return to form.