What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Off-the-wall typical Spanish housewife (Carmen Maura , though Esperanza Roy and Concha Velasco turned down the role) is an lowly maid in Madrid , here she scrapes to get by and help her two useless sons , a young junkie called Javi and a gay boy who sleeps with men , living in a crowded as well as small apartment with her self-reliant grandma (Chus Lampreave) and Antonio (Angel Andres Lopez) , her sadist husband , a Taximan and also a forger who adores an aging German singer named Ingrid Muller (Katia Loritz) he used to chauffeur . One teen son is a druggie and sells dope , the other has rare hobbies and Gloria subsequently has given away in adoption . As her family situation goes from bad to worse , her travails inspire other people and befriends her next door prostitute named Crystal (Veronica Forque , though Angela Molina and Victoria Abril turned down the role , as the latter didn't want to play another whore , having just played one recently) . Gloria works as a maid , cleaning houses for bourgeois families (Gonzalo Suarez , Amparo Soler Leal) and craves a better life . Two alcoholic men cook up a scheme to sell a manuscript as Hitler's memoirs, if the taxi-driver will transcribe it in Hitler's hand . Antonio agrees, so they ask the German singer Muller (Katia Loritz) to play the character of the original owner since her past affinity for Nazi memorabilia makes her a likely candidate .

Agreeable film full of feeling , outlandish characters , haunting mood-pieces , Spanish Neo-realism , fun scenes, strange humor and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . The picture deals with drama , off-the-wall comedy , absurdities familiar , mad inversions , murder by Hambone and many other things ; featuring a feminist heroine of classical proportions . The picture is pretty well but turns out to be inferior to Almodovar's previous and subsequent entries . The result is undiluted scabrous comedy , profanities , perverted sex with short , sharp images and a crazy strings of plots . It's a piquant look at lower classes involving twists and an intrigue about the forging of Hitler's diaries and keeping a neighbour company during her bonking hour . Nice interpretations by all cast , as Carmen Maura as Gloria , mother of a dysfunctional family in Madrid , she is a cleaning lady , Maura playing very well her various trials and escapades , Angel De Andres Lopez as her surly husband cabby , Chus Lampreave as weird mother-in-law who picks up a pet lizard and keeps bottled water and cupcakes under lock and key . Furthermore , Kiti Manver , Gonzalo Suarez , Emilio Gutierrez Caba , Cecilia Roth , Veronica Forque , Javier Gurruchaga as a sex-crazed dentist and other delightfully played roles .

The motion picture was realized in his traditional style by Pedro Almodovar ; he often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular story lines . Almodovar directs throughout with splendid zip and he usually portrays strong female characters and transsexuals . His first feature film, Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980), was made in 16 mm and blown-up to 35 mm for public release. In 1987, he and his brother Agustín Almodóvar established their own production company: El Deseo, S. A. The "Almodóvar phenomenon" has reached all over the world, making his films very popular in many countries. Pedro subsequently made successes such as Labyrinth of passions , Law of desire , Women Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown , Bad education , All about my mother , Talk to her , Broken embraces , The Skin I Live In and many others .