These are the most emblematic design moments of Pedro Almodóvar’s career

Since the release of his first feature film, F –… F —… F— Me, Tim! in 1978, Pedro Almodóvar created his own cinematographic universe. The director, screenwriter, actor, producer and two-time Oscar winner often explores themes of homosexuality, gender, motherhood, and Spanish culture, and he does so using a few signature methods. Earlier in his career it was camp, and although his work has become more dramatic over time, there is still almost always a lot of comedic relief in his films. His characters are outrageous, his plots are full of coincidences, and he likes to subtly remind audiences that he’s watching a movie.

Design is another tool in the box. Almodóvar has worked with production designer Antxón Gómez on at least 11 films, creating landscapes almost always inundated with striking colors, patterns and art, making you truly feel like you are inside the character’s house. with them. “We talk a lot about how the spaces will be,†Gomez said. A D by a translator in 2019. “It’s a pleasure to work with a director for whom the set is like another actor in his film. It is a luxury.

Almodóvar and Gómez’s latest collaboration is Parallel mothers, a drama starring director’s muse Penélope Cruz and newcomer Milena Smit as women who meet in hospital as they both give birth to girls. They bond and, over the following years, their lives become even more entwined through a series of intriguing events. Much of the poignant story takes place in the apartment of Cruz’s character, Janis, and its decor is quintessentially Almodovarian. Like other Almodóvar settings before him, the space is modernist, a bit kitschy, and has pops of bright red, which is appropriate given the passion and drama involved, not to mention the association. color with Spain.