Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Dir: Pedro Almodovar, 1988, Spain (7.8*)

This is a screwball comedy from Spain, one of the hottest European directors of the last decade, in fact he's usually known now by just his last name, Almodovar. Primarily a romance about a woman recently broken up, Carmen Maura, Almodovar throws in terrorists, weapons, airplane hijackings, completely over-the-top. Apparently getting past Franco loosened up the artists a good bit, as Almodovar seems to be inspired by the new "punk tabloid" philosophy, perhaps Telemundo soaps as well. Antonio Banderas goes out of character as a nerd.