I saw this film tonight, in a packed theatre full of lots of Spanish-speakers. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. The thing I loved about it is just how clear Almodóvar's passion for Spain was...the lingering images of olive trees, of toros and trajes de luces, even of streets and buildings. It seemed quite different from his earlier movies in this...it was slow and sensuous and very lovely.

The story itself was (no surprise here!) odd (two women in comas, two men who love them...need I say more?).

Incidentally, I have found it interesting that some of the main characters Almodóvar uses in recent films (maybe in earlier ones too, but I didn't notice that) are not originally from Spain...so it's always good practice for me to try to pick out different accents (all I can usually manage is that they are NOT Castilian!).

The story was full of interesting twists (I have to say I saw the main "twist" coming a mile away...it was very obvious to me that what eventually happened WOULD happen) and some good characters. I went to see it with a girlfriend, which was probably better than going with my husband. He would have left the theater asking, "What was that ABOUT?" and I would have had to say what I always do after movies like this one, which is that it is a study of characters, not "about" anything in particular.

This would NOT be a good first-date movie, I think, given the extremely strange and very explicit (in a latex-y sort of way) sex scene. Don't ask...you'll have to see it to believe it! All I know is that it would have embarrassed me on a first date...and many of the audience members were squirming.