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La Ley del deseo
1987 Comedy / Drama / Romance
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Credits
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Director: Pedro Almodóvar
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Script: Pedro Almodóvar
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Photo: Angel Luis Fernandez
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Music: Bernardi Bonezzi
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Cast: Eusebio Poncela (Pablo Quintero),
Carmen Maura (Tina Quintero),
Antonio Banderas (Antonio Benítez),
Miguel Molina (Juan Bermúdez),
Fernando Guillén (Inspector de policía),
Manuela Velasco (Ada, niña),
Nacho Martínez (Dr Martín),
Bibiana Fernández (Ada - madre),
Helga Liné (Madre de Antonio),
Germán Cobos (El Cura),
Fernando Guillén Cuervo (Policía, chico)
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Country: Spain
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Language: Spanish
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Runtime: 102 min
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Aka: Law of Desire; La Loi du désir
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Summary
Pablo Quintero is a gay filmmaker whose erotic films become something
of an obsession for Antonio Benítez. Pablo is considering
ending an affair with his boyfriend Juan, who has left Madrid to return
to his home village in southern Spain, when the hitherto religiously straight Antonio offers him a
one-night stand. Meanwhile, Pablo’s sister Tina, an actress, is
outraged when she learns that the director has used her real-life
experiences as the basis of his next film. She isn't the only
one to have the knives out for Pablo. When Antonio learns
that his new-found lover still has feelings for Juan, he becomes consumed with
jealousy...
Review
Although Pedro Almodóvar had, by the mid 1980s, built something
of a cult following for himself in his native Spain with his
subversive, highly stylised brand of cinema, it wasn’t until his
seventh film, Law of Desire,
that he began to win a wide international audience. Whilst
restrained compared with the excesses of some of Almodóvar’s
earlier work, this was a pretty daring film for its time - thanks to
its direct and honest portrayal of gay relationships and stylishly
homoerotic love scenes.
By today’s standards, Almodóvar’s portrayal of gay men, lesbians
and transsexuals at this time looks somewhat dated, with the result
that many of the characters in his films come across as rather shallow
caricatures. Law of
Desire is not immune from this, but the robust performances -
particularly those of Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas - maintain a
sense of realism and an
emotional intensity which prevent the film from slipping into
unintended self-parody. It’s by no means Almodóvar’s best
work, but the seductively composed mix of romantic intrigue, suspense
thriller and cheeky black comedy works surprisingly well, making this
one of his most entertaining and unpredictable films.
© James Travers 2008
For World Cinema on DVD...
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