Matador (1986) watch online HD

Matador is one of the strangest, darkest, (and yet compelling) early films from Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Amoldovar.

It is completely nuts.

Pour in equal measures of sadism, masochism, bullfighting, perverted sexuality, and sexual violence. Add in a splash of comedy and soupcon of star-crossed lovers (if, for a moment, you thought pairing Tybalt and Lady McBeth qualified as star-crossed) and you have what passes as characterisation. Mix dark nights with gaudy flamenco colours and you have some striking cinematography. I'll come to the plot in a minute…

Amoldovar was clearly enjoying Spanish cinema's new-found, post-Franco sexual and artistic liberalism. The prudish among his audience might suggest he was positively wallowing in it. Whatever the truth, Matador is a masterpiece of his style, if not, indeed, a whole style in of itself.

The plot – or possibly a better description, the tapestry over which the characters move – is a murder hunt. Very few prizes will be won, however, for guessing the culprit/s. Two people are quickly in the audience's frame because they are shown… er… murdering people on camera. A third person (Banderas, in to my mind his best Amoldovar role) confesses to the murders in a fit of insecurity and remorse over an attempted rape ("some girls get all the luck" comments a female duty officer dryly, proving that feminism wasn't that big in Spain back in the 1980s). Nevertheless, the net soon closes on the crushingly obvious culprits (who in the meantime have developed quite a crush on each other). As previously mentioned, completely nuts.

Matador's strengths are in its characterisation and its sheer bare-facedness. Amoldovar has, as usual, assembled a character list of freaks and proceeded to humanise all of them – to the point where there is a genuine whiff of tragedy in the final act. To mention the great performances is really to rehearse the cast list. Assumpta Serna, Nacho Martinez, Antonio Banderas and Eva Cobo are all excellent. And it really is worth seeing, just for the young Antonio.

There are some interesting points made in the film about outsiders, liberalism, sexual politics and gender politics (as always with Amoldovar). I'll let you pick through them. It is, though, not so much a film as a giant red rag to the raging bull of conservatism, deftly whisked aside to the ragged applause of an admiring, if somewhat perplexed, audience. A positive Jimi Hendrix of a film, unpolished, with some definite dud notes, but undeniably the work of a genius. 8½/ 10

Matador 1986 This late 80s film is the one which gave Almovodar wide exposure in the USA. The young Antonio Banderas plays a rather a deviant person with violent anti-social behavior issues rather than his usual stud role. As the title implies this is a blood red expose/drama/murder mystery concerning bullfighters & sex in the bedroom. A young ex-bullfighter who is getting turned on by killing & a lady lawyer with same problem then the 3rd character a young man driven insane by over-religious upbringing. These are the main characters in this stylish black comedy about dark sides of human nature. Almvodar is a really romantic & like emotional movies with complex plots. He knows movies are never more sensual or alive than when they venture into the forbidden territory & defy limits of plot set by most other films & screenwriters. The opening is shocking: A man sits in front of his TV masturbating to a montage of repulsive slasher-movie images playing on his VCR. Matador makes a zingy connection between the repressed passion of Catholicism (with its images of ecstatic suffering) & the obsessions of its lovers. Angel's mother, a member of the fanatical right-wing religious group Opus Dei. Matador isn't as complex as Law of Desire, & the characters aren't so much real figures as embodiments of psychological drives & impulses (almost to the point of absurdity). They represent places in the Almodovar's dream world. Still, the director & his screen-writing partner, Jesus Ferrero, paint them with great conviction The male leads of Matador (1986) & Law of Desire (1987) essentially switch places. Nacho Martinez, who plays the title character of Matador, takes the supporting role of Dr. Martin in Law of Desire. & Eusebio Poncela, who has the supporting role of police inspector in Matador, has the lead role of the film director in Law of Desire. Matador becomes in every way Surrealist Sex Comedy. The film gives huge amounts of spirited affronts to convention. 5 stars

Essentially seen by many as a warped sex fantasy that uses the codes and conventions of the detective thriller to disguise a darker, more psychological film about the wayward perversions and sinister desires of a seemingly affluent area of contemporary Madrid; Matador (1986) can also be seen as a not-so-subtle comment on the nature of modern-day relationships, aspirations and obsessions in a meta-textual form that makes continual use of its titular, bullfighting motif. Although it does have some slight thematic problems, particularly in terms of the overall tone of the film and eventual motivation of the characters, it is, nonetheless, one of Almodóvar's most interesting and perplexing films of this particular period; featuring a refinement of many of his earliest interests and characteristics from films like Dark Habits (1983) and What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984), as well as being the film that signalled the move into the second phase of his career.

As the implications of the title would suggest, the film's narrative is bolstered by numerous references, both spoken and visual, to the obvious role-play and iconography of the bullfight. It is also a film about violence, and the sexuality of violence; an uncomfortable idea that is reinforced by the film's provocative opening sequence, in which we find the central matador of the title, Diego Montes, masturbating to violent scenes of exploitation cinema. The scene establishes the nature of the matador, both as a character and as a social phenomenon, as well as introducing the link between sex and death that will come to form an important thematic strand to the narrative. As the story progresses, the mechanisms of the drama conspire to throw together two separate characters that come to complement the unspoken desires and murderous lust that they seemingly share with one another, with the eventual courtship and inevitable seduction presented by the director as a surrogate bullfight in its self.

Where the film falls apart slightly is in the presentation of the character played by Antonio Banderas, a hyper-sensitive, implied homosexual who idolises the matador to the extent that he actually attempts to rape his young, fashion-model girlfriend (an act that eventually leads him to confess to a string of serial killings as a result of his mother's enforced, catholic guilt). It is a complex character, impeccably performed by the young Banderas, but his appearance ultimately sends the film off on a tangent that detracts from the central crux of the drama. Though the inclusion of this subplot does allow Almodóvar the chance to make a satirical comment on the nature of everything from fashion, to religion, sexuality, etc, these themes often feel like they've been handpicked from a completely different film, not always complimenting the central story, and too often leading it in directions that in the end feel unfinished or slightly unformed. Many of these loose ends can be glossed over, while some (the last minute implication of "second sight" as suggested by a solar eclipse) really seem to come out of leftfield.

Nevertheless, these are minor criticisms that don't necessarily destroy the ultimate intentions of the film - which really only become clear in the final scene - or the fantastic direction of Almodóvar and the performances of his cast. Although Matador certainly has its flaws (not to mention its detractors), it is, in my opinion, a fine little film and one of Almodóvar's most original and audacious creations. The performances are all incredibly committed, including the central pairing of Assumpta Serna and the late Nacho Martínez, as well the fine support from Banderas, the gorgeous Eva Cobo and Almodóvar regulars Carman Maura and Eusebio Poncela; whilst the central idea behind the script and the bold stokes of the director's intuitive grasp of the various film-making processes further refines and develops a number of themes that have come to be at the forefront of Almodóvar's career for the last twenty-five years.

It is very much worth watching this early film of Almodovar from 1986, with a painfully young Antonio Banderas also at one of his first major screen presences. As many of his latest great movies it's a film hard to put in a precise square, a combination of comedy and tragedy, of crime, love and corrida movie with a touch of absurd and a touch of passion taken directly from life.

Although many of the major themes of passion, sexual desire and ambiguity, relation between love and death are already present the movie is somehow simpler in action and easier to watch than some of the later films. The story of two sexual predators and murderers, united in life by the passion for bull fights and in death by their passion for each other is acted with accuracy by a good team of actors and directed with an already recognizable style by Almodovar. The hand of the young master is certainly already there, and the film ages well 20 years after is premiere.

Matador is an early Almodovar work that explores the relationship between sex and violence through the medium of bullfighting. It follows a love quadrangle between a retired matador, his repressed student, the matador's lover, and the student's lawyer, as a series of murders takes place in Madrid. Dark comedy ensues in the midst of murder investigations and extremely loud eighties fashions.

The performances make this decidedly odd film work. Assumpta Serna is great as the lawyer, while Antonio Banderas makes an early appearance as her client. Carmen Maura also has a small role, even though her character is somewhat lacking in development. The characters remain convincing even as the plot spins into the out right bizarre.

Some viewers might complain that the film's explicit sex and violence make it little different from an exploitation film, and indeed it opens with a character masturbating to a slasher movie. Furthermore, its commentary on sex and violence at times seems pretentious. However, the film is far more creative and well made than any exploitation film, and is well worth your time.

Spoilers herein! Forget all the other movies labeled as erotic. This is the one. Elegant, classy, sophisticated. Pitch black comedy so dark it will take you ten or fifteen minutes to figure out the ongoing humor. A crippled matador, serial killer of prostitutes, who can only function sexually if his mistress pretends to be dead, has a psychic pupil (Antonio Banderas), sexually repressed, who confesses to the murders. Banderas is to be represented by a woman attorney (the fabulous Assumpta Serna!) - but she also is a serial killer, a woman who can only climax by killing her lovers at the moment of orgasm. When the matador and the attorney meet, a dance of death commences, each circling the other like bull and matador, each recognizing the other's propensities, each fighting to resist the insatiable passion that will lead them both towards certain death at the other's hands. A fascinating movie, laced with Almodovar's cynical sense of humor. Amazingly explicit love scenes with the gorgeous Assumpta Serna. Not for the unsophisticated or most Americans.

This 5th feature of Almodovar is one of his best (along with Labyrinth of passion & Kika) as far as I am concerned, and if not his best then for sure his most provocative flms. As usual, Almodovar explores some of the darkest sides of human sexuality, and deals with perversity as dealing with any every-day life subject.

For once more, the notorious film-maker, at great shape, entertains with his trademark raving, hilarious, politically incorrect dialogs, pace and style and while dealing with dark (necrophilia) or serious (religious oppression) subject matters, it manages to be very funny and entertaining. What's great with Almodovar is that you simply CANNOT label his films. Is it comedy? nope. Is a thriller? nope. Is it a crime film? nope. This is Almodovar, so all pretenders go see another million dollar US product . But to all the admirers of unique and original films, this is definitely recommended, if you can tolerate with some weird humour, a bit sexy visuals and nudity and some violence. Matador is ART!

Every Artist has a reoccurring theme, that he successfully or unsuccessfully explores and tries to capture through out his life time, and that eventually becomes his, what we might call - style. With Ingmar Bergman it's the detachment from life and confronting death, with Woody Allen, the comical absurdity of man-woman relationship, with Filliny it's the nostalgia for the lost, often irreplaceable innocence of childhood. In case of Pedro Almodovar though, to put it lightly, it's unorthodox, sex crazed love stories. (love that guy!)

I had watched three films by him (Bad Education, Law Of Desire, Talk To Her), and all of them were rather twisted, but this one is defiantly the weirdest love fable I had ever seen or read … even by his standards.

The story begins with a young man, (played by heavenly-gorgeous, 18 year old Antonio Banderas) who is studying to be a matador, under a world famous, but retired, due to an injury, Maestro. One night after being suspected of being a homosexual, he decides to prove his masculinity and toughness by attempting to rape Maestro's girlfriend. But being in reality a very innocent and tender soul, he literally faints before anything happens, when she accidentally cuts her finger.

The girls reports him, and while being questioned, the cops hang on him three more murders. Apparently there have been bodies popping up through out the city, with all the victims assaulted in the same strange manner - at the height of their sexual arousal, they are stabbed in the back of their necks, with a hair pin, with the same technique a toreador brings a bull down.

And now, brought together by serendipity, the female lawyer, who had come to defend Antonio, and is investigating the case, is beginning to have a sort of an "affair" with the Maestro. Both of them being obsessed with sex, violence and mostly important death, which they find the most arousing thing in the world. Imagine Romeo and Juliet, only where they both not only desire each other sexually, but also long for each other's death.

I had personally often wondered, why the element of violence is so often present in sex. Even when one makes love, no matter how gentle, there will be some hair pulling, slight choking or biting. To experience pain and dominance, seems to be counterintuitive to receiving pleasure, yet something in our wiring arouses us by that. With books like "Fifty Shades Of Grey' bondage and sadomasochism had become house hold names, and practices. But what I can't wrap my brain around is why do these seemingly, logically unpleasant activities arouse us?

The theme in this film, of the desire to kill the one you love, and to define death and brutal violence as sexy, that is bound to make an indelible imprint on your soul and to stay with you for the rest of your life.

Before I saw this movie in late 80-s I knew something about culture, tradition and 'spirit' of Spain, the country which inspired me for years. This movie made an enormous impression on me as it gave me very deep insight into 'real Spanish spirit', i.e. what does death mean to Spanish people in the light if their tradition and culture.

The personality of ex-matador and his behaviour underlined by his words - 'to stop to kill means to dye for me', on the other hand a high class woman being 'infected' with death, treating Diego as her God of Death, and these two 'lost worlds' slowly approaching each other into a fatal bitter end, which was filled with the most beautiful tune ever made (Esperame en el cielo mi corazon...) all this creates an unforgettable and distinctive impression after watching this movie.

Pedro Almodovar you gave us a great piece of art, I believe there are some more pictures that you can bring to us in the future.

Thanks Pedro..............

I am not sure what to expect when the opening scene is a man masturbating to torture porn, a term that was probably not even invented in 1988.

From there we go to alternating clips of Antonio Banderas asking the ex-bullfighter Nacho Martínez about women and he compares getting a woman to bullfighting, while we watch someone do exactly that. We are no, of course, prepared for the necrophilia twist in that encounter.

We find our boy, Antonio, and he is a boy in this film, in a strict Catholic household. I would have to guess that his mother was Opus Dei. He attempts to rape his neighbor and confesses to four murders which we know he did not do. This is just Almodóvar's take on religion and repression. He revisits that subjects again in the film, so it must me a theme for him.

But, then the story shifts to Nacho and Assumpta Serna, with Eva Cobo in a minor role. This is where the story gets interesting with the police trying to solve the four murders and the real murderers trying to lay it on Antonio.

It gets bizarre at the end with Antonio seeing the killers in his mind and leading the police to them. But, they arrive too late as the climax of sex and death occurs simultaneous with an eclipse. How weird is that?

I was very much surprised and shocked by how much I enjoyed this film, which at times to me ventures dangerously close to what I would call a "snuff film."

The story follows the character of a retired matador who murders women for his sexual pleasure, videotaping them so that he is able to pleasure himself later on when he watches them. He eventually meets his match in another character (a lawyer) that is just as murderous and played by Assumpta Serna. The film is actually wonderfully acted and photographed throughout. The film is crazy, sexy, outrageous, and at times very much shocking. The storyline, which includes the wonderfully mad and sexy Antonio Banderas, having visions of these murders, makes so little sense, but in the long run doesn't really matter. Beyond the overtly sensationalistic pleasures that go on - there is a sharply perceptive insight about how people enjoy looking at and even causing the violence.

I would point out that the focus on bullfighting is not a critique of the sport per se, as much as an opportunity to have a conversation of the darker side of human nature.

This is an excellent film, and adds to the great collection that Almadovar has created. If you aren't disturbed by gratuitous sex and violence, then you should definitely give this a try. The characters introduced mimic the screenplay and directing perfectly. One of the most creative plot lines ever; includes a matador with some sort of death fetish, a necrophiliac, a matador in training who faints at the sight of blood, and many more great characters which lead to sickly hilarious scenes. The camera work is also mind blowing. The different levels Almadovar reaches with the cinematography will make this a movie to remember. But be warned. If you are disturbed by a Clockwork Orange Don't rent this one.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! WATCH OUT!!!

Incredibly dark comedy/drama. Diego (Nacho Martinez) is an instructor of the art of bullfighting. He also has a thing for death. It seems that he can't snap out of the state of mind he's in ever since he was gored by a bull years ago when he was a celebrated matador. This also causes a nasty habit: murdering women and having sex with the corpse. His student, Angel (Antonio Banderas, before he went Hollywood), is unhappy with his life (Constantly berated by a very religious mother, who thinks her son is evil), soon confesses to a series of murders. Into the picture comes Maria (Exotic Assumpta Serna), an attorney who thinks that Angel is innocent. And she should know: She's responsible for killing young men in the act of passion! It seems that she has a thing for death, too. It is only a matter of time when Diego and Maria meet, and when they do...things get VERY interesting!

Pedro Almodovar slips into the dark side with this film, and a lot of scientific overtones (Angel has some sort of psychic ability, characters talk about types of mushrooms and a solar eclipse features in the film). Those that are want to get into the films of Almodovar may not want to start with this film (Try "Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown" instead.), but you don't want to ignore this film.

Serna and Martinez worked very well together and I was deeply saddened when I heard that Martinez died in 1996. He was a talented actor and gave this film its soul.

It's great that the DVD of the movie is now available, because those that are curious can watch it. The colors are beautiful, and it's just a wonder to see. Not recommended for anyone under 17 due to some intense sexual scenes.

I saw this film a couple of weeks ago, I rented it because I like Almodóvar's films very much, but this film is very strange,and it's difficult to understand it perfectly. A. Banderas plays a guy who has some problems, we don't know if he's gay or not, but it seems like he is very much in love with his bullfighter teacher.

The bullfighter teacher is phsyco who kills womens while they're making love and Banderas tell the police that he comitted those crimes. And then Banderas' lawyer is a very sensual woman who kills men while they are making love and she is in love with banderas' teacher!! FREAKY!!! It's very strange, but you know , it's an Almodovar film. we can expect everything....see it...and make your conclusion.

One of Pedro Almodóvar's early movies is a gruesome look at the dark side of human nature. Bullfighter-in-training Ángel Jimenez (Antonio Banderas) worries that his teacher Diego (Nacho Martínez) doesn't consider him manly enough, so he attempts to rape Diego's girlfriend Eva (Eva Cobo), and then confesses. This leads into a whole analysis of each of the characters, who also include Ángel's lawyer, María Cardenal (Assumpta Serna).

Without a doubt, Almodóvar's movies are not for everyone, and "Matador" is quite possibly the most extreme example. The opening scene will very likely tell you whether or not you want to keep watching. Of course, one of the topics that the movie brings up is Catholic guilt, as Ángel's viciously strict mother (Julieta Serrano) has damaged him to the point that he confesses to crimes that he didn't commit. Religion doesn't get much love in Almodóvar's movies, as seen in "Bad Education" (probably for a good reason, since Almodóvar very likely had a bad experience with the Catholic Church).

I probably wouldn't call "Matador" Almodóvar's best movie, but it does bring up some good points, so I recommend it. Carmen Maura and Eusebio Poncela also star.

Antonio Banderas and Pedro Almodóvar are now collaborating on a movie called "The Skin I Live In", which I hope to see. It's going to be a shock hearing Banderas speak his native language again, after years of his starring in Hollywood movies.

Almodovar meets DePalma in this dark thriller with less 'jokes' than most of his films, though black humor pervades the whole thing. All the characters are obsessed with death; a murderess who kills during sex, a teacher of matadors who lives to kill, and masturbates to snuff films, and a student who wishes he could kill but faints at the sight of blood. Some of the twists are silly, obvious and/or cop-outs, and the characters never feel 'real', but there are some great, operatic disturbing and funny moments as well. Sort of a thinking person's, surrealist 'Fatal Attraction'. Some of it is clunky, but the film sticks with me. Very good performances all around. Most major, professional reviewers liked even more than me, and I'll probably re-visit it down the line. It seems like the kind of film that could easily grow on a second viewing -- its flaws more forgivable, its strengths more powerful.

"Matador" is one of the most interesting and unique of Almodovar 's films, which is saying a lot considering this is Pedro we are talking about! The majority of the characters engage in untoward sexual behavior. Death is an obsession and killing is an aphrodisiac even if it means the end of your own life. The characters are deeply flawed but their horrendous actions are treated as being almost commonplace. I was conflicted while watching the film, because the main characters are monsters, but the actors make the characters so real that one understands what drives their evil tendencies.

It is interesting how Angel appears to be the only character who feels any remorse for his attempted rape. Maria and Diego appear completely self serving without any guilt. Even Eva is willing to not tell the police on Diego if he will stay with her. These characters are monsters. But they are complex and wholly intriguing. We may not encounter these types of people, but we know they are out there, which keeps us wanting to know what they will do and how they can live with themselves after they have murdered, attempted rape, or are willing to ignore disgusting crimes for love.

Although not as vibrant in color as Almodovar's more recent films, "Matador" still makes use of his love of red. In one particular scene, Eva runs down the stairs in pursuit of Maria, which creates a gorgeous image and is what we expect from Pedro. His camp sensibility is also apparent in the film as he mixes surprising comedy with drama. One example is when the detective says what have you done and Angel's psychologist, Julia, says straight faced, "I curled it" while pointing at her hair. Hilarious!

Almodovar created a film that would have never been allowed under Franco's rule. You will be sitting there shocked but fully engrossed in this bizarre story.

After fifteen minutes or so, I thought that this would be the best Almodóvar film that I had ever seen. Inexplicably, the movie simply falls apart after the terrific opening, and I was left stone-faced until things improved considerably at the end. After setting things up so beautifully at the start, it was very disappointing to see things bog down so quickly. The cast was good, the director is certainly good, and even the basic plot was good. But somehow, once a good plot was in place, the writers forgot to build an interesting story around it, and so the film fell flat.

I liked the film Almodóvar made just prior to this a lot more; 1984's What Have I Done to Deserve This? was a far more involving, concentrated and reigned in effort about a group of women living in a cold; damp; greyed out; unwelcoming Madrid striving to get by amidst volatile living conditions and family members. It was witty, punchy and taut: a real treat. While I'd furiously champion that film if you're seeking out early Almodóvar, his 1986 effort Matador leaves a bad taste in the mouth; a wandering, sprawling freak show of a film documenting irritating; destructive and border-line psychotic people getting mixed up with one another in webs of "love" and "passion". It is nonsense of the highest order; a wandering, sprawling piece that treats an array of sensitive subjects in a grandeur and disrespectful manner. Maybe it's about the sorts of items the cinema of Spain had been mostly starved of over the decades prior to the 1980s due to strict censorship, but in truth; it's a relatively routine, drab thriller with a little bit of trashy sex sprinkled in, about a misogynist whom it's gradually revealed might be coming around to realise his ways as whom it is his eye catches goes through a routine process of idolising somebody a tad too much.

The misogynist and idol in question is a certain Diego (Martínez), a trained matador who now teaches after a bit of an incident several years ago during a bullfight in which he was gored. He teaches young Ángel (Banderas), the lone interesting character of the film whose impetulance in being a youth sees him overreact and do something daft early on resulting in the film imprisoning him for most of the rest of it. This means we get to focus on Diego and a certain María (Serna) bickering; bantering and meeting at all sorts of odd times in odd places as lust and so fourth rages. Diego is a man that likes pain; derives pleasure from pain and particularly pain inflicted on women given how much he enjoys the horror film he watches at the beginning. This, before we cut to the same gentleman lecturing on how to skewer a bull to a class of matadors. Next scene, María is murdering a poor hapless chap by 'goring' him in her own unique way; a sharp hair pin into somewhere just thinking about sends shivers down my spine. This is what links them, you see – sadism attracts sadism; the longing for dangerous and powerful romantic interludes attracts the longing for dangerous and power........oh, you get the idea. María is a lawyer, and even turns out to be Ángel's attorney after he turns himself in for an attempted rape on neighbour Eva (Cobo), someone who just happens to be Diego's girlfriend.

What begins as a slightly interesting and edgy drama about a number of colourful people interacting with each other on this plateau of suspicions and the questioning of one's identity quickly dissolves into bland Euro-centric dribble designed to shock and confuse, written and directed by a man on a then-brief vein of form that sees him ramble without consequence as the revelling in grotesque content comes across as that of the 'high-art'. Maybe to him and some others, to the rest, it's just juvenile. The film systematically uses Ángel to tap into Spain's problematic past and both Diego and María as tools documenting what everyone else in every other Western nation are "obsessed" with in their texts so as to provide some sort of closure on where Spain and its art (plus attitudes) might (or ought) be headed. The case study between the two romantic leads exemplified by the two graphic sex scenes María is involved in: grotty, greyed out and uncouth in a run down locale with a nobody earlier on, but in a lavish; colourful; exquisite; log-fire lit locale later on with Diego.

Almodóvar has fun addressing the past in the character of Ángel, a young man that lives with his mother in a rather expensive home having had a Catholic upbringing, and we get the sense he's been kept as far away from any sort of temptations, however seemingly minute, as possible. This is touched upon in a sly moment when Almodóvar has him engage with Diego around a billiards table, Diego asking for a game to which Ángel does not even attempt to rise to simply by saying he "does not know how to play". It would seem pool houses, items such as gambling and the like have been in no way omnipresent throughout Ángel's life.

Issues of sexuality are questioned – this representation of the more 'classical' young Spanish male then driven to go out so as to try and rape a girl; a neighbour, someone local, thus clearly establishing a sense of desperation or suddenness in the act, built up by anger. But incarcerating Ángel is Almodóvar's method of telling us he's dealt with that bit and now wants to focus on the scummy leads, systematically rendering Ángel's strand one of a detective driven nature as police officers struggle to work out what has driven this young man to do the things he says he has done. The film is remotely interesting at the best of times, off-the-wall; grotesque and rather stupid at the worst – culminating in a bizarre race against time borrowed from many-a past thriller rendering the entire experience a wholly unpleasant way to spend an hour and a half.

This movie is not an easy movie to watch, it can be very disturbing to most people. But there is a message in this movie but you need to view the entire film. Matador translate into the killer. In Mexico and Spain Bull fighting is a big part of the culture. Fathers will often take their son to his first bull fight with extreme pride. They will watch the matador basically slaughter the bull to death, with cheers coming form the crowd. This sport is not appreciated by most of the USA, Canada and vegetarians. Unless you are a hunter. What I Believe Pedro Almodovar does is put people into the characters. The matador is a man and the bull is the woman. We the viewer are the crowd. Showing us how absurd it is to watch a killing as a sport. Showing the matador who gets off on the hunt and kill, the bull who lives to be killed but must be killed in the sport. To me the sex in this movie describes the sport, which lead you to contemplate how sex has become sports like in our society. No matter what your views are on sex. My favorite films by Pedro Almodovar is first "Law of desire", Second is "Matador" and third is "Tie Me Up, Tie me down" with this film subtext on Stockhom Syndrome.

And again me and the Spanish cinematography, Pedro Almodavar and his famous "Matador ". Excellent camera with a nice separate film frames, throughout the film holds special attention. Also, the soundtrack, tells the story perfectly. I especially remember the scene, when Mary stands on the bridge, where she saw the suicide and when she says, that this place is very attracted to her ,and keep her returning there. The story of the sick passions, obsessions with death, which even leads to a fascination with, the moment of eclipse in connection with the eclipse of the mind, a sense of guilt absent, Parapsychological phenomena ,prediction of events, the Oedipus complex, as it was Pedro masterfully arranged in "Matador". The film I really liked and left a strong impression on me. What to say that this film is really exceptional work of art.

An ex-bullfighter who gets turned on by killing, a lady lawyer with the same fetish and a young man driven insane by his religious upbringing - these are the main characters in this stylish black comedy about dark sides of human nature.

This film is just full of interesting scenes and scenarios: a man excited by Italian horror films, a rapist who turns himself in even though the victim does not care... and the unorthodox attorney who is the bridge between them both. This is definitely "black comedy" that is so very European -- where else can you actually make jokes about "three or four" rape attempts? It shouldn't be humorous, but somehow it happens here.

According to IMDb, someone thinks this film influenced "Nekromantik". I understand why they would think that, but has this been confirmed? I have a hard time believing that this film -- which is boundary-pushing but still artistic -- was a big influence on a movie about a guy who physically loves corpses. But what do I know?

Of the dozen-or-so Almodovar films I've seen, Matador is the least satisfying and most disturbing. "Disturbing," not as in provocative, but in revealing the director's infantile obsession with Eros and Thanatos--eroticism and death. It's treated merely as something to drag the viewer through, like Mike Leigh or Peter Greenaway would do...or Leos Carax at his most insouciant. Gratuitousness masquerading as something substantive. Stay away, unless you want to ponder the alchemical potentiality of mixing blood and semen. Ugh! Now, that is not to say that there aren't some good performances. But, I'll take Bunuel or Emil Jannings honestly examining how the 'release' and 'rupture in consciousness' in sexual arousal/fulfillment and violent passion are similar and how the confuse us--and the camera. Try Antonioni's "Desert Rose" or Val Lewton.

The NFT in London are currently holding an Almodovar season - what else would pseuds do - and the best you can give it is that at least it's not New Voices From The Rain Forest: Some Recent Films From Jivaro Directors, which is probably scheduled for Next year. Having failed to 'see' anything in Almodovar's recent titles I thought perhaps his earlier titles would have something going for them. Alas, I have to conclude not much. His first film, screened last week, and this one from six years later are apparently based on the theory that if it's outrageous enough it will be good. T'ain't so, honey, t'ain't so. This time around we have a Black Widow spider of a lawyer who kills her partners at the moment of orgasm, an ex-matador who likes his girl friend to pretend to be a stiff every time HE gets stiff, a 'psychic' virgin with a penchant for confessing to serial killing, etc, put them together and what do you get? Bibbety-Bobbity-Poo or pretentious crap, whichever's the greater. If it's a choice between this and being force-fed ALL the Carry On titles whilst Elton John brays from a speaker system I know which I'd choose.

Diego Montez is a former bullfighter obsessed with videos of violence. Ángel (Antonio Banderas) is one of his students and vows to prove that he's no fag. He tries to rape his neighbor and Diego's girlfriend Eva Soler. With his religious mother's prodding, Ángel confesses the rape to the priest and then to the police. Eva refuses to press charges and then Ángel confesses to murders. He leads the police to the bodies buried near Diego's home. They don't believe him with his fear of blood and an apparent alibi for one of the murders. María Cardenal takes the case as his defense attorney although she is the one who is seen doing one of the killings earlier in the movie. It's a tale of perverse sexual obsessions and murders.

The story telling can be confusing with this Pedro Almodóvar film from his earlier days. It's a young fresh-faced Antonio Banderas and he's quite magnetic. It would have been great to have Banderas as the only main lead and dive into his confused maddening mind. Almodóvar is doing some sexually twisted things. It's pushing the edges of the envelop. It simply needs to be clearer and the more Banderas the better.