Synopsis
Leo is a middle-aged writer of popular romantic novels who writes under a pseudonym, but despises her own work. At home, her husband, who works overseas, is distant both physically and emotionally. As she reevaluates her life and writing, Leo is led to an unexpected relationship with Angel, a sensitive newspaper editor.
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Cast
- Marisa ParedesLeo Macías
- Juan EchanoveÁngel
- Carme EliasBetty
- Rossy de PalmaRosa
- Chus LampreaveMadre de Leo
- Kiti MánverManuela
- Joaquín CortésAntonio
- Manuela VargasBlanca
- Imanol AriasPaco
- Gloria MuñozAlicia
Recommendations
- 90
Chicago Reader
Pedro Almodovar's 1995 comic melodrama seems in many ways his most mature work, in theme as well as execution.... Almodovar's control over the material and his affection for his characters never falter. - 80
Empire
Almodóvar lets rip with a story of great emotional intensity, while retaining his signature stunning visual style and a central performance quite unlike anything previously seen in his work. A potent and strikingly well-delivered combination. - 80
Salon
Almodovar, who in the past has made dark comedy out of jealousy and infidelity and even rape and suicide, here casts a less absurdist, more empathetic eye on his characters. The world they navigate is still full of bizarre coincidences and random cruelties, but the filmmaker's stance is a little less distant, the laughter degrees warmer and the emotions correspondingly magnified. - 78
Austin Chronicle
Though The Flower of My Secret is not as crazed as "Women on the Verge," the movie marks the return of Almodóvar's delicious humor and a departure from the nastier streak that this Spanish director has been on recently. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
It's a witty, intelligent scramble, and it's beautifully mounted. - 75
San Francisco Examiner
The Spanish filmmaker goes back to what he does better than any other living director - post-modernizing the melodrama. - 70
The New York Times
[Almodovar’s] returns to the mordant but sympathetic comedy of his early, best work. Though the new film is not as antic as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," it is funny and free of the nasty undertone that has made him seem tired and tiresome lately. - 63
ReelViews
It's bland as often as it is affecting, and presents little that's new or original.
