at the movies

I had Almodovar's most recent film, Volver, sitting on my desk for weeks courtesy of Netflix. So finally last night I watched it. It was--is--magnificent. Almodovar, to my mind, is one of the absolute masters of film. There is such humanity in his work, and such deep emotional worlds are portrayed with panache, visual flair, and sensitivity that it is breathtaking. I was in tears repeatedly. The acting was magnificent. And what I love so much about his work are the brilliant, almost comic, colors. They are saturated, glowing with the intensity of the drama unfolding. And he conveys his story, one of almost epic tragedy, with a kind of unselfconscious ease that towers over any Hollywood director that I know of, at least of the current crop. American films, the "serious" ones, are so overbearing, so exaggerated, that they are more implausible than moving. So if you have not seen this one, please do so. You won't regret it.