Film Comparison

Almodovar's Prisons

Prisons can be more than a place where one is confined for what they have done. A prison can be a great number of things; a prison can be a psychological, social, emotional, or physical construct. Pedro Almodovar explores these four types of prisons in two of his films, Volver and Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother). In both of these films, the characters find themselves held prisoner by what they keep as secret; the ramifications of these secrets sometimes force characters into seclusion, whether it is self-imposed or a result of social/cultural fears. Volver and Todo Sobre Mi Madre's narratives demonstrate the effects that these four types of prisons -- psychological, social, emotional, and physical -- have on the people that are forced into confinement.

"Almodovar is most interested in melodrama, approached from a variety of angles, some of them skewed" (Mast &...
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