Pedro Almodovar

From Philosopedia

Pedro Almodóvar (25 September 1951 - )

Almodóvar was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, to Francisca Caballero and Agustín Almodóvar.

When eight, he migrated with his family to Extremadura, attending high school with the Salesians and Franciscans fathers. According to his official website,

His bad religious education just taught him to loose his faith in God. By that time he starts compulsively going to the movies in Caceres.

"I was born in a very bad time for Spain, but a good one indeed for the film industry. I'm talking about the fifties. I was still a child when I first stepped into a hometown theater. It looked sort of like the one portrayed in some sequences of "El Espíritu de la colmena" - if my memory serves me right, there is a theater in that film by Erice".

"Apart from the chair, the first time I went to a theater I also took a can of coal with me to fight the cold during the projection. In time, the heat of that makeshift hearth has become the paradigm of what movies meant to me back then".

The website discusses decades in his life from childhood up to the present and includes a listing of the many awards he has received.

An admittedly gay film director he is known for the following films, which have been reviewed by Jeremy C. Fox:

Volver (2006)

Bad Education (2004)

Talk To Her (2002)

All About My Mother (1999

Live Flesh (1997)

The Flower of My Secret (1995)

Kika (1993)

High Heels (1991)

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" (1990)

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Law of Desire (1987)

Matador (1986)

What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

Dark Habits (1983)

Labyrinth of Passion (1982)

Pepi Luci Born (1980)

He acted in the following:

Madonna:Truth or Dare (1991, playing himself)

"What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

Dark Habits (1983)

Writing in time.com, Jumana Farouky discusses his being homosexual:

• Film fans agree, recognizing Almodóvar as a champion of the mistreated and marginalized in modern cinema. It’s a role he excels in, though he’s wary of being typecast because of his sexuality. “No one talks about the heterosexual President of the United States,” he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo in June. “So why should they call me a gay director?” Because by pushing against boundaries and ripping up clichés, he’s brought clout to the gay cause and helped Spain become a more tolerant place.

Time and NNDB have documented Almodovar's being an atheist.