Skip to main content
One for Almodovar fans
ALAN McGUIRE recommends an autobiography that is an intriguing mix of short stories and personal sketches
Pedro Almodovar, 2017

The Last Dream
Pedro Almodovar, Harvill Secker, £16.99

PEDRO ALMODOVAR is a Spanish film-maker known for his vibrant, emotionally charged films that often explore themes of identity, sexuality, family, societal taboos and human relationships. 

Coming from the deeply religious and bare landscape of Castilla la Mancha to the vibrant capital of Madrid in the throes of la movida, a counter-cultural movement following the death of Spain’s dictator Franco in 1975, Almodovar is himself a mixture of the various Spanish cultures.

In his work he breaks mainstream stereotypes of Spaniards, often with images and realities that the country’s conservatives would rather forget.

Donate to the Fighting Fund
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
CONFRONTING HOMOPHOBIA: (L) FCB Cadell, The Boxer, c.1924; (
Exhibition review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: Xilun Sun as the mysterious interloper
Film of the Week: / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
Short Story / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
Frantz Fanon at a press conference during a writers' confere
BenchMarx / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
Similar stories
Amanda Seyfried and Rivera Reese in Long Bright River (2025)
TV Network Monitor / 22 April 2025
22 April 2025

DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid

TOUR DE FORCE: Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths
Preview / 7 January 2025
7 January 2025
LOUIS BAYMAN admires Mike Leigh’s bleakly comic take on a black woman’s experience of depression that offers no easy answers
Mati Diop's Dahomey
Cinema / 24 October 2024
24 October 2024
Colonial plunder goes home, chilly euthanasia, transsexual drug baron and venom’s end: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Dahomey, The Room Next Door, Emilia Perez and Venom: The Last Dance
(L) The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet; (R) Youth Homec
Venice Film Festival 2024 / 9 September 2024
9 September 2024
RITA DI SANTO selects seven of the best films from this year’s line-up to watch for in cinemas