Progressive auteur portrays charisma

Pedro Almodóvar can best be described as provocative.

Spanish star · Esteemed director and screenwriter, Pedro Almodóvar (center), discussed at Bovard Auditorium on Friday night his career as a progressive, thought-provoking and scandalous filmmaker. - Nathaniel Gonzalez | Daily Trojan

The internationally celebrated Spanish filmmaker is noteworthy for his controversial subject matter and exuberant film style — not to mention, his Oscar-winning film Talk to Her and his breakout success Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

On Friday night at “An Evening with Pedro Almodóvar: A Visions and Voices Signature Event” — in conjunction with USC’s School of Cinematic Arts — Bovard Auditorium housed one of cinema’s greatest contributors, who discussed his career and artistic style in good humor and with his trademark charismatic flair.

A couple hours hardly suffice to capture the brilliance of Almodóvar, but screening clips of All About My Mother, Talk to Her and The Skin I Live In served as a decent start.

The attention, however, quickly turned to Almodóvar, the auteur himself, who immediately jumped into his early career, describing such in broken yet endearing English.

“My school was to every day go to the cinematheque,” Almodóvar said.

A self-taught filmmaker, Almodóvar had always dreamed of attending film school in Madrid but suffered from the school’s closure because of dictator Francisco Franco’s regime in Spain, thus catalyzing Almodóvar’s home-brew filmmaking method.

With his unconventional but advancing developments in style and technique came Almodóvar’s rebellious attitude, a symbol for “la movida” — the reaction against Franco’s dictatorial rule of conservatism and censorship. His early work epitomized the true spirit of the progressive movement.

“The main feeling was just to be there, to live there,” Almodóvar said.

But Almodóvar is more than a mere symbol of the 1980’s Spanish counterculture. He is an expert and extroverted filmmaker full of zest.

“I need to feel that passion,” Almodóvar said. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t do it.”

This passion is not just a result of the Franco-induced repression. Instead, his vigor has continued through today, coming from deep within.

“This kind of life has lead me to introspection and I think my films have really reflected that — which doesn’t mean I’m always thinking about myself,” Almodóvar said, inciting uproarious laughter from the audience.

Almodóvar’s contagious vivacity and dedication to his art sets the stylistic bar for his films — full of outrageous themes and vivid imagery — yet it contributes in part to his hesitance to make an American film. Speculations regarding Almodóvar’s Hollywood breakout have brewed for years. The acclaimed director, however, maintained quite the opposite of the rumors.

“My way of working was much more free than here,” Almodóvar said. “My roots are absolutely Spanish.”

There’s more to Almodóvar than his avant-garde style and his devout sense of patriotism to Spanish national cinema — there also exists an effervescent sense of humor. For instance, the electric Spaniard noted the difficulty in pronouncing his name, almost as if this admission was routine but still said in good spirit.

“If it were the start of my career, I would be Peter Smith,” Almodóvar said.

It is this ability to poke fun at himself that allows his provocative content to flourish and make heavy themes like lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender subject matter while also allowing death and loss to appeal to mainstream audiences.

Almodóvar hopes to incorporate this sense of humor in future endeavors with a Spanish comedy and an English film. The director, most notable for his work in melodrama, is clearly looking in new directions. And though he has no current interest in Hollywood film, he wants to experiment and broaden his language horizons, proving that this innovative director has the capacity to take his experimentation even further.

The evening ended with Almodóvar’s reception of the Sergei Eisenstein Award, named after the Russian filmmaker and selectively awarded to only two previous recipients — Agnes Varda and Costa Gavras — for Almodóvar’s contributions to the expansion and revitalization of Spanish cinema which thereby created a worldwide dialogue.

Almodóvar graciously accepted and responded using a comical tone of course.

“It’s a kind of pleasure that lasts more than sex,” Almodóvar said.

Almodóvar’s latest film, The Skin I Live In, is currently playing in theaters.