15 May, 2013

By VIVA Team

The Spanish poster for Almodóvar's new film, 'I'm So Excited'

He is one of Spain’s most renowned and revered filmmakers, whose opinion and viewpoint is sought on a variety of topics. So when Pedro Almodóvar releases a film that aims to tackle and reflect upon the country’s current economic climate, critics the world over sit up and take notice.

Almodóvar’s I’m So Excited (Spanish title: Los Amantes Pasajeros) touches on debt, deficit, unemployment and despair. A perfect parable of Spain’s current woes, or an overwrought artistic misrepresentation of the situation? That should be for the audience to decide, but it’s a telling new direction for Almodóvar, who has hitherto refused to be drawn on matters relating to politics and the fiscal state of the nation…

As a poster child of the eurozone project, Spain’s fortunes have been pegged closely to the euro ever since its inception. From bold new direction and unity to current instability, their fortunes have risen and fallen in lockstep.

Almodóvar’s bold new film recognises this trend, and dissects the current facts: unemployment at 27 per cent, an economy that has shrunk by a sixth since 2008 and austerity measures that have bitten deeply and show no sign of letting go just yet. Adding his trademark dose of pathos and suffering underpinned by an irrepressible sense of hope for the future, I’m So Excited is an informed and thought-provoking take on Spain’s current woes.

The action takes place almost entirely on an airplane, where conditions flit from turbulent to smooth and settled in the blink of an eye, with the spectre of a crash landing looming forever over the narrative… what happens next is, well, for you to find out.

But one thing is for sure: Almodóvar has struck movie gold once again, while at the same time expertly capturing the anxiety that millions of Spaniards currently face, and the class, humour and strength of character that is a prerequisite for getting through the crisis with a smile on one’s face.