“It’s my gayest film ever!”

Giles Tremlett for The Guardian, interviewed Almodóvar for him to “joyously” state that I’m So Excited is his “gayest film ever!”. Though incredibly camp and a complete move aware from the seriousness of Almodóvar’s films in the last decade, this is not unheard of. Indeed, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a film that is comedic, camp and playful in the same manner as I’m So Excited. 

A plane is forced to stay in the air as all the Spanish airports cannot accept the faulty plane to land. On the plane itself, we are forced to be amongst the business-class “savages” and their respective cabin-crew; three camp air stewards until the situation resolves itself. The pilots equally have a role to play as both are unsure, sexually, where they stand. It is clear from this basic overview that the film is full of subtext an allegory as it alludes to the financial issues in Spain. A plane that cannot land; those leading the people – the pilots – are indecisive about their sexuality and truly don’t know who they are and where they should go; the passengers all have their own goals and motives to pursue – without looking out for each other. We are forced to stay in the small-space of the elite upper-class – whilst the rest of society/the plane is fast asleep in economy.

Small-Scale

Generally speaking, this film remains within the plane – often taking place in ever-decreasing smaller-spaces as the air stewards argue and joke within the preparatory-area at the front of the cabin – to only move into the cock-pit, whereby we remain squeezed in amongst all the dials and gadgets that litter the front of an airplane.

But this film is about capturing the mood of a nation. Pedro Almodóvar is famous for creating an image of Spain to the rest of the world. The cultural attitudes towards death in Volver; the almost-iconic look of the pastel-coloured rooms that he regularly uses. Almodóvar believes we are in a “bleak place” right now – and I’m So Excited is about filling that void with a playful, comedic and upbeat attitude towards our own defencelessness in the face of the recent banking crisis. I’m So Excited is an “unrealistic, metaphorical comedy”, and so you seek out the political and personal issues raised amongst the sex, alcohol and drug-taking on board Flight PE 2549.

Crash-Landing

This is Almodóvar for the fans. This is Almodóvar for the hard-core film-completest. Since 1999’s All About My Mother, Pedro Almodóvar has been a film-maker who has not only challenged viewers but he has also become a film-maker who weaves profound and deeply-poetic themes and ideas within accessible international cinema. I’m So Excited features a cast and cameos from many actors who have featured in many of his previous films – Javier Cámara (Talk To Her), Lola Dueñas (Volver) and Cecilia Roth (All About My Mother) to name a few – and so we have a film that almost feels like a Best Of… Almodóvar. Using this idea as a jumping-off point, it is more a Best Of… The Early Years of Almodóvar. That’s not a bad thing of course, but personally I preferred his later records and despite a huge success in his native country, I don’t think the film is as accessible as his later films. Enjoyable, quirky and metaphorical – yes. But not as profound as I expect.

Originally written/published on Flickering Myth on 1 May 2013