January – February, Ragtag Cinema celebrates the
career of landmark Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar.
Following the death of Spain’s fascist dictator Francisco
Franco, the nation began to transition to
democracy in the late 1970s. With it,
a countercultural renaissance took
root known as La Movida Madrileña.
Here, Almodóvar began pushing
the boundaries of polite society—
embracing the music, art, and attitudes
that embodied Spain’s new social
and sexual freedoms.
Transgressive, queer,
melodramatic, comedic, and
infinitely tender, Almodóvar’s
films place women at the
fore: as saints, mothers, sex
workers, and independents.
Spanning over forty years, the series features four
repertory selections as well as the director’s newest
effort.
WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A
NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (on 35mm)
JAN 18 & 19
Broken relationships, terrorists, and attempted suicide dress the set of
Almodovar’s quintessential pitch-black ensemble comedy, marking the
director’s first international recognition.
1988. 88 min.
PEPI, LUCI, BOM
JAN 19 & 20
The wild adventures of three friends: Pepi, an independent modern woman; Luci,
a mousy, masochistic housewife; and Bom, a lesbian punk rock singer. This new
digital restoration of the director’s first feature finds him at his most campy and
deliciously chaotic.
1980. 82 min.
VOLVER (on 35mm)
JAN 25 & 26
Revolving around an eccentric family of women from the wind-swept south of
Madrid, a working-class woman goes to great lengths to protect her 14-year-old
daughter. To top off the family crisis, her mother returns from the dead to tie up
loose ends.
2006. 121 min.
PARALLEL MOTHERS
OPENS JAN 28
Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to
give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, middle-aged, unrepentant and happy;
Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.
2022. 120 min.
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (on 35mm)
FEB 3
In Almodovar’s masterful melodrama, a single mother in Madrid sees her only
son die on his birthday as he runs to seek an actress’ autograph. Beside herself
with grief, she returns to Barcelona to tell the boy’s father about the death of the
son he never knew he had.
1999. 101 min.