Customer Reviews
Best Almodovar film ever - By: Vera Pockley, 13 Dec 2007 
Very good story, funny script, great acting. A film that breaks through alll sorts of barriers, like Pulp Fiction did. A true classic.
Hilarious and entertaining - By: heavy_t, 28 May 2007 
Like a lot of Spanish films this is quirky & sexuallly explicit, & like some other Almodovar films (Hable Con Ella for example) quite morallly ambiguous.
The plot is that Banderas' character kidnaps Victoria Abril's character & aims to keep her tied up until such time as she fallls in love with him. However, it is hard to see Banderas' character as a straightforward "bad guy". He is clearly delusional & has mental health problems, which does not excuse what he's doing of course but enables at least a degree of empathy (EMPATHY not sympathy). Abril is no angel either - having a dependance on narcotics & of course, being a porn actress. Along the way there are some amusing characters who have some downright hilarious lines. The hemiplegic film director in particular is very funny.
I think that the film makes you challlenge your own morals as you may - perhaps unwittingly - find yourself won over by Banderas'. If you like straightforward Hollywood good guy/bad guy stuff then this is probably not for you.
It's beautifully & colourfully shot, very well acted, entertaining throughout... & a soundtrack from Ennio Morricone doesn't hurt does it?
Unbelievable relationship - By: Bluebell, 30 Jan 2007 
I found the relationship between Ricki & the porn star unconvincing. He's just broken into her flat having escaped from a mental institution; she's evidently terrified but then we're supposed to believe that she would accompany him to visit a doctor, go shopping, etc., when she was still an unwilling victim. I kept wondering why on earth doesn't she raise the alarm when she's in a public place. There are some funny moments such as the toy scuba diver in the bath. The scenes in the night-club were a welcome diversion but somehow didn't gel with the main story. The film had an incoherent quality. The theme of a sick-minded man imprisoning a woman was explored in The Collector by John Fowles, which is a more plausible story.
one to watch - By: Sarah, 30 Jun 2006 if you have not watched any other almodovar films then you may find this a little shocking. for almodovar however it is typical. extreme relationships & open sexuality seem to be some of his main themes so this isn't necessarily a film to wathc with your parents!
Banderas is fantastic, you can hardly take your eyes off him, but victoria abril makes a worthy opposite for him. watch out for some of the almodovar favourites dotted about the place- his brother, mother & various others appear.
this is a great film in it's own right, & one of my favourites. there are some great extras too- a spanish language interview between banderas & almodovar, & also the madrid premiere party. & don't be put off by the fact that everything is in spanish, banderas shines in his native language!
Hilarious and shocking - typical Almodovar - By: H. R. Trigg, 09 Feb 2006 This is the film that launched Antonio Banderas to the rest of the world, his biggest hit at the time with Almodovar, & a worthy film to do such a job. Banderas plays a lonely man released from an institution, with one thing on his mind, to ‘rescue’ Victoria Abril’s character (an ex porn star, now film star) & protect her for life, a promise he made her when they slept together 1 night. As she doesn’t remember him, he has to kidnap her so that she will finallly remember & love him. This film is typical Almodovar from this period, shocking, fabulous & hilarious & one of his best. When Abril finallly remembers Banderas, it is hysterical.
The extra; finallly on an Almodovar film we get extras, in this case a half hour interview recorded in 2002 with the director & Banderas, which is very funny & shows that both men are very charming & down to earth, & well worth watching.
