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Overview
La Flor de mi secreto is a Spanish-French film first released in 1995,
directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
The film stars Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove, Carmen Elías, Rossy de Palma and Chus Lampreave.
It has also been released under the title: The Flower of My Secret.
Our overall rating for this film is: good.
Synopsis
Leo Macías is a writer of trashy romantic fiction who, under the pseudonym Amanda
Gris, is one of the most popular authors in Spain. However, with her marriage failing,
she finds it increasingly difficult to turn out the superficial happy-end novels she is
contracted to write. On the brink of a nervous breakdown, she feels impelled to
write in a much darker tone...
Film Review
With La Flor de mi secreto, acclaimed film director
Pedro Almodóvar gives the distinct impression that he has arrived at a turning
point, away from the heavily stylised cinematic kitsch that established him as contemporary
Spain’s most attractive and creative filmmaker, to something with more emotional depth
and truthfulness. It’s certainly a very different kind of film to what has gone
before – a subdued melodrama which achieves impact not through imaginative design and
wacky, subversive ideas but through a realistic portrayal of a woman succumbing to the
travails of middle-life crisis.
Whilst it is not as rewarding as some of Almodóvar’s earlier work, with some of the characters coming across as soap-style clichés rather than believable human beings, it is an engaging film which gives some insight into the psychology of the author and his not always comfortable relationship with profit-hungry publishers. In both its subject and its presentation, the film shows a growing maturity in the director’s approach, which becomes far more apparent in his subsequent films, notably All About My Mother (1999) and Bad Education (2004). © James Travers 2007 Buy DVDs of World Cinema masterpieces... Write a review for this film... User Comments
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Related links
More French DramaRecent DVD releases |
Credits
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