The Flower of My Secret (1995)

"The Flower of My Secret" follows a middle-aged married woman and somewhat neurotic novelist, Leo (Paredes), on the verge of divorce from the handwriting on the wall to the separation to the final realization and adjustments required to get her life back on track. There's little plot to be found in this linear dramady which sees Leo bumping into the people in her life for brief tete-a-tetes and bouncing off her emotional walls as she tries to cope with the inevitable. Not Almodovar's best work, this busy, mildly humorous, dialogue-intensive contempo Spanish flick received mild approval from critical corners and the public alike. Short on story but very well composed, "The Flower of My Secret" will play best with women, especially Spanish speakers or foreign film buffs. (B)

Fmovies: Only Pedro Almodovar can do a melodrama that crosses genres like this film. In one sense, this is a film that you would expect to see on Lifetime.

Marisa Paredes (All About My Mother, Life is Beautiful) is nothing less than outstanding a a writer that is going through a crisis with a husband (Imanol Arias) that does not love her anymore. There is, of course, a crisis with her mother (Chus Lampreave - Volver) at the same time. Then, she finds out that it is her best friend that is having an affair with her husband, and there are profession problems at the same time. Sounds just like a Lifetime movie, doesn't it? But, Almodovar manages to give us a great story with his twists. Laughs are generous as comedic situations occur throughout. It's like wanting to laugh at something at a funeral. It happens, and we just have to deal with it.

Juan Echanove (who supposedly gave a great performance in Alatriste, the film that I have been waiting for release theatrically, or on DVD) is superb as Ángel, the newspaper editor who fulfills a dream to write romance novels. and who is in love with Leo (Parades).

It is just another great film from Almodovar that defies a description that would ever do it justice. Only experiencing his films can ever be pleasure.

Pedro Almodovar is easily one of the most interesting filmmakers in the world today and most of his films are in a strange way tongue in cheek, despite the premise of the story! But in this film its a more serious Almodovar story and while never boring, I'm not sure it succeeds on the level it wants. Story is about a woman who is a very famous writer but writes under a pseudonym. She hates her own work and is hired by a magazine to do a story on herself (They don't know she is the same person). Marisa Paredes is Leo and as she enters middle age she seems to be going through a mid-life crisis. She drinks to much and her marriage is falling apart. Her husband Paco (Imanol Aris) is in the military and always gone. Its evident he does not miss her but Leo looks forward to when he comes home. Definitely a more somber and straight laced story by one of the most irreverent directors in ages. Paredes is always captivating and she seems at ease playing women with deep rooted problems. Film follows her as Leo must learn all over again how to enjoy life and most important, to like herself! Slow moving film as some genuine moments from Paredes but its not one of Almodovars better efforts.

The Flower of My Secret fmovies. Yes, the line at the beginning is also on another movie: "All about my mother", where Manuela (who is the transplant coordinator at a Hospital) received the same news, with almost the same words. Although, excellent movie and all actors stunning. Chus Lampreave as funny as always, and Rosy De Palma nailed the middle aged lady character. I totally recommend this movie. One of the most dramatic movies from P. Almodovar. Marisa Paredes is a great actress, and had some main roles on Almodovar movies (All about my mother,High Heels/tacones lejanos) and this one. Juan Echanove gets the Teddy Bear tenderness, I just love him. Joaquin Cortes had a brief role, and had a little dance. I think he is very innovative and very powerful Bailaor. I tried to find "High Heels" but it seems very hard to find in the States. I'll keep trying.

In a very short period of time I've seen several of Pedro Almodóvar's movies and I've become a fan of his work. I love his style of mixing drama with (sometimes absurd) humor and music. I like the fact that he always knows to make you feel as if you know the characters personally after seeing the movie... Having said this, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by "La flor de mi secreto".

The characters aren't as well developed as I'm used to see in his movies and it's sometimes very hard to care for his main character: Leo Macías (Marisa Paredes). As Amanda Gris (her pseudonym), she is a writer of very successful sentimental novels who deal about love, sex and happy endings. But her personal life is a complete mess. She doesn't want to write this kind of novels anymore and she gets an assignment from a magazine to write a review on the work of... Amanda Gris. Her relationship with her man isn't any good. He works for the Nato, is more abroad than at home and when he's at home he wants to leave as soon as possible. She drinks too much, her mother is a cause of many concerns... She wants to change her whole life, but it isn't as easy as she hoped it would be.

Even though the story isn't bad or boring, it doesn't really succeed to be as captivating as I would like it to be. The positive thing about this movie is that you already can see Almodovár's talent for the use of humor and music, great camera work, interesting story telling... sipping through. Things that became more obvious in his later work. This movie may not be the best example of his work, but it is worth a watch. I give it a 6/10.

Having seen most of Almodovar films, I have to say I prefer his more hilarious, comical, absurd ones. High heels, Talk to her are two other examples of Almodovar doing almost straightforward "drama" - though not the usual drama fare.

That said, this touched me a lot. Without excluding some typically unusual -hillariously funny- Almodovar dialogues and "usual suspects", this film is about pasiion, lust, bitterness, disappointment, joy. It is, after all, about life. Acting of the lead actress is top notch, it's human as far as it goes. No silly plot tricks, no deus ex machina, this is not another sorry a$$ American drama with easy solutions or a bright happy end.

Almodovar is one of the greatest artists of film!