In any language, Almodovar equals genius

Great roles for women
This might be the filmmaker’s greatest strength. There may be no greater lover of women than Almodovar. He makes no judgments, no condemnations of how these women conduct themselves, make a living or survive in an often unstable family structure. Almodovar embraces the camaraderie of women. He finds their ability to bond with each other in the most dire of circumstances extremely moving.

“The characters in my films are assassins, rapists and so on, but I don’t treat them as criminals. I talk about their humanity,” he explains.

In both “Mother” and “Volver,” there are several women who sell their bodies on the streets for either cash or drugs. The director, however, doesn’t cast them as lowlifes or unworthy. Rather, he sees them as supporting themselves by any means necessary.

And the actresses who play these women have a special bonding with Almodovar as well. With Cruz — their initial pairing was 1997’s “Live Flesh”  — who went on to become better known to American audiences in films such as “Vanilla Sky” (she played the same role in the Spanish version “Abre los Ojos”), she can thank the director for utilizing her as so many diverse characters and helping her blossom as a big-screen star.

The aforementioned Cecilia Roth has had eight collaborations with Almodovar, and, for the actors, Spanish standouts Javier Bardem (“The Sea Inside”) and Antonio Banderas each had parts in Almodovar’s magnificent “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” The 1988 film captured not only an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film but a staggering 16 Goya Award nominations (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars), ultimately winning five, including for best picture and screenplay.

Looking over all the awards Almodovar has won emphasizes what he has accomplished on a global scale. The director-screenwriter-producer has won the highest film honors in Spain, the U.S., Britain, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, France, Italy and Canada, including major trophies at the Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto film festivals.

The hugely entertaining “Volver” should only add to the list of treasures Almodovar has given worldwide audiences. They’ll be happy to explain how much they adore him. In any language.

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Variety. He can be reached at .

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