- the women share each other’s problems and solve them in a way which makes life manageable
- women are strong, men are weak
- women suffer due to the actions of men but work together to overcome
e.g. Raimunda’s abusive husband
- the female characters act as protective mothers
- the deaths of various characters strengthen the bonds between the female characters
- the women are obsessed with feeding each other and cooking
- the resilience of women living in difficult circumstances
- the female characters play simultaneous roles of mother/sister/daughter/friend
- they are a collective force to be reckoned with juxtaposition between the positive representation of female solidarity versus machismo and negative male characters
2. Analiza la manera en la que Almodóvar explora la noción del ‘pueblo español’. [40 marks]
- the funeral scene which evokes Lorca’s plays in the village
- the dead play an important part in the lives of the living
- traditional scenes of cleaning the graves on a blustery day
- rural, conservative and superstitions reign in the village
- juxtaposition with modern-day Madrid
- Almodóvar’s romantic treatment of rural Spain
- negative representation of urban cities
- the town is a safe haven where the women are in charge
- the importance of Catholicism in the town
- the characters find more ‘traditional’ Spanish dishes on their return to the town
Exemplar work: 2012
- The focus here is on Irene’s decision to live as a ghost and explain the effect this has on her relatives and neighbours.
- Support to Aunt Paula: when Irene finds refuge at her sister Paula’s home, she realises that Paula needs constant care. Her decision to stay with her, even as a ghost, allows Paula to be cared for until her death.
- Irene’s decision to stay hidden as a ghost meant that Raimunda never knew that Irene was aware of the abuse her father was carrying out on her. The consequent hatred of her mother is resolved only during the film. Once Raimunda finds out that her mother is alive, it is clear that Irene knew about the abuse and was as furious on her behalf as Raimunda was on her daughter’s behalf.
- Irene reassures Agustina that her mother did not disappear on a whim to leave her alone and unloved. Irene realises Agustina is dying and takes charge of her care; this brings not only physical, but psychological, support to Agustina.
- When the family comes back to their home town, Irene’s daughters let her go to do her penance (looking after Agustina) with a quiet and simple grace. This creates unity within the family, which was once broken.
- All the women in the family come to terms with Irene becoming a ghost and find peace and reconciliation.
4. Analiza cómo Almodóvar usa el color rojo para desarrollar los temas principales de la película. (50 marks)
- Almodóvar uses the colour red to develop the main themes of the film such as femininity, power, life, and death.
- The colour red, combined with the almost all-female cast, signifies menstrual blood. It can mean two opposite things: it signifies the process by which new life is created but at the same time the loss of the creative process. It is this duality, the creation of life and the taking away of life, that permeates the whole film.
- Given the association of women with blood as previously explained, Raimunda uses this aspect of femininity to explain the evidence of blood on her neck after killing her husband; in this way she gets away with it.
- Most of the time the main (female) characters are dressed fully or partially in primary colours. Almodóvar wants to show that, like the primary colours that make all other colours, women are the source of all power and life – they are in control.
- Clothing, the freezer in the apartment where the body is kept and the family’s car are all red; this establishes a link between the women in the family.
- Red can also signify passion and danger and can amplify other colours in the scenes. This adds to the elements of tragedy throughout the film.
- La familia
- Las vecinas madrileñas
- Las vecinas manchegas
6. Raimunda es, sin duda, una mujer fuerte para sobrevivir todos sus problemas. ¿Estás de acuerdo?
- Ejemplos de fuerza
- Protectora
- Víctima de abuso
