Pedro Almodovar Biography (2)

Pedro Almodóvar (born September 24, 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. He was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha and grew up in Extremadura. At the age of sixteen he moved to Madrid, he worked in a number of jobs before settling down for twelve years at Telefónica. His first commercial film was shown in 1980 although he had been making short Super 8 or 16 mm films since 1980, Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (English title: Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom) had been shot over eighteen months. He writes and directs most of his film and has also acted and produced.

Almodóvar is best known for his use of melodrama, improbable circumstances and high camp in his movies. However a theme that recurs in his work is the connections and/or the desire to connect with others. His characters, in all their many forms, are attempting to 'come home', find safety, fulfillment and love with those around them to dispel an almost universal loneliness. Through his use of intellectually and socially marginal characters, Almodóvar is able to take the search for fulfillment to extremes that mainstream society seldom tolerates. The extreme actions undertaken by his characters, like the kidnap and seduction of a woman by a recently released mental patient (played by Antonio Banderas) in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! drives home the point that the urge to be with someone is strong enough to merit drastic action.

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