LABYRINTH OF PASSION
A film review by T. H. E. White
Copyright 1994 T. H. E. White
94 mins, 1982
This crazy story (Almodovar's 3rd feature-length movie) revolves around four central characters: Riza Niro (Imanol "Intruder" Arias), who is the son of the Emperor of Tiran, Sadec (a very young Antonio "MAMBO KINGS/PHILADELPHIA" Banderas), the gay Islamic terrorist with an amazing sense of smell, Sexilia (Celia Roth), the stunning singer and nymphomaniac who is afraid of the sunlight, and Queti (Marta Fernandez-Muro), the dry-cleaner's daughter, fan of Sexilia's and whose father (Luis Ciges) rapes her, believing her to be his own estranged wife.
While hiding from the terrorists, Riza joins a punk band, and a rapport develops between himself and Sexilia. Throughout the film, Sexilia works out in flashbacks how she became a nymphomaniac, afraid of the sun, and how Riza discovered homosexuality.
To really enjoy this film it seems almost essential to be a heavy Almodovar fan. Common themes (homosexuality, nymphomania, incest, hard drugs, rock'n'roll, Madrid life) abound, here stronger than ever. It is a hard film to translate adequately into another language because of the slang and humour of the Madrid "pasotas". The script is fast, lively and sparkling; the acting is both over-the-top and natural. The scenes of Madrid are as colourful as ever.
Much of the script seems to be ad-lib, as if a hidden camera were filming everything. One of the best scenes is a photo-shoot with Fabio (Fany McNamara) posing with a drill. The ensuing conversation between Fabio and Riza Niro must be one of the most memorable dialogues in Almodovarian films.
One interesting point concerning the acting is that neither the terrorists nor Riza Niro make any attempt to feign a `foreign' accent, and keep their pasota-ness throughout. This is intentional, and used for effect later on when Eusebio (Angel Alcazar) and his girlfriend (Cristina S. Pascual) comment on this. On the other hand, Helga Line over-acts her role as Princess Toraya, adding to the delightful naivete of the admirable casting.
One of the jewels of the film is the evocative punk soundtrack. In a club, Pedro Almodovar himself gets up on stage when the announced band, "ELLOS", are late arriving. He and Fabio (his then real-life gay lover) sing a superbly kitch punk rock song, "Suck It To Me", written by Almodovar himself. Later on, when the transformed Riza Niro sings "Gran Ganga", having been asked to sing because the original singer, Eusebio, has broken his leg after Sexilia had made him slip down the stairs on a banana skin, the crowd go wild with admiration. Both "Gran Ganga" (another song from the Almodovar-McNamara discography) and "Suck It To Me" have become timeless classics in Spain among the punk-rock followers.
LABYRINTH OF PASSION is not a family film, but one for an open-minded Almodovar follower. There are many adult themes, though nothing is depicted explicitly. It is indeed a film to watch a hundred times and never tire of. 10 out of 10.
BY:
Tristan H E White. | (mail to: T.H.E.White@qmw.ac.uk).
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