Pedro Almodvar. Birthday  Sep 2. Birthplace. Calzada de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Castilla La Mancha, Spain. Splashing his colorful films across the dour post Franco Spanish landscape with the irreverent glee of a prostitute arriving late to church after a long night, Pedro Almodvar has been called the most influential Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buuel. Beginning in the 1. Almodvar started serving up provocative, candy colored visions fraught with postmodernist insight into everything from sex and violence to religion and the dangers of good gazpacho. Sometimes shocking, sometimes controversial, Almodvars films have always managed to present a new and intriguing view of his native country, shaping the attitudes of both his compatriots and a larger international audience. Born September 2. Calzada de Calatrava, an impoverished hamlet of La Mancha, Almodvar was raised in a traditional Spanish household. Que Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto Almodovar Castle' title='Que Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto Almodovar Castle' />He studied with Salesian monks, sang in the choir, and generally felt like a misfit he was later to remark that, for him, growing up in such an environment was tantamount to being an astronaut in King Arthurs court. At the age of 1. 2, on seeing Richard Brooks Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Almodvar decided to give purpose to his alienation, marking himself down for a life of sin and degeneracy. As a teenager, Almodvar was influenced by the films of such directors as Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Buuel, Blake Edwards, and neorealists Marco Ferreri and Fernando Fernn Gmez deciding to pursue a career as a filmmaker, he got out of La Mancha and headed to Madrid in 1. Working at a phone company by day, he wrote short stories, mock newsreels, and spoof commercials at night, as he also made Super 8 shorts and one Super 8 feature. One of Almodvars stories, a dirty photo novel he was commissioned to write for a fanzine in 1. Pepi, Luci, Bom. Pedro Almodvar Caballero Spanish pronunciation peo almooar kaaeo born 25 September 1949 is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer. Bardem fue el primer actor espaol en estar nominado a Oscar y el primero en ganarlo en 2008 por su papel en No es pas para viejos. Su primera nominacin le. An outrageous sexual satire, the film delivered a happy slap to the face of Spanish society, which at the time still wallowed in Franco style social intolerance. The films campy, pop art colored hedonism and sexual vulgarity were mirrored two years later in Almodvars second effort, Labyrinth of Passion. Many Spanish critics, who had a bias toward the more quality films of the Spanish cinema establishment, reacted negatively to Almodvars work, labeling him too modern and superficial. The director reacted to such criticisms with Dark Habits 1. Que Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto Almodovar MoviesWhat Have I Done to Deserve This Although both films were comedies, they delved into more serious, complex subjects. Dark Habits presented a criticism of the Catholic Church through the story of a woman forced to hide out with a group of outrageous nuns, while What Have I Done to Deserve This This latter theme of the downtrodden housewife would arise repeatedly in the directors work, as would other issues of female independence and solidarity. Almodvars subsequent films deepened his exploration of sexual desire and the sometimes brutal laws governing it. Matador 1. 98. 6 offered up desire as a bridge between sexual attraction and death, presenting the viewer with a cornucopia of sexual options, including fetishism, gay and straight voyeurism, necrophilia, and female penetration. Download Game Hard Truck 2. This variety was further explored in the aptly named Law of Desire 1. Antonio Banderas in his first starring role. Banderas also starred in Almodvars subsequent feature, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1. Almodvar as a womens director. It also earned its director international acclaim and 7. Spanish history for a decade.