“All that happens in
this movie is fiction and fantasy and bears no relation to reality”
 |
A plane of
“Peninsula” airline. Some technicians loading the boot with luggage. Jessica
announces to his husband Leon that she is expecting a baby. When everything is
ready, the plane takes off and the air hostesses start giving the typical
security explanations to the passengers. Some of the people present pay
attention and some others don’t. One hour and a half later they are all slept.
So begins
the movie “I’m so excited!, written and directed by Pedro Almodovar. This
Spanish director has been recognized for his great work worldwide. In fact, on
December 2012, the American Film Academy carried out a retrospective of his
filmography in London. Moreover, he won an Oscar in 1999 for “All about My
Mother”, and was formerly nominated for “Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown” in 1988.
“I’m so
excited!” began its shooting on July 2012 and ended on September, 7th.
Its original title, “Los amantes pasajeros”, makes reference both to “passenger lovers” and “passing lovers”.
The movie
was released last March, 8 in Spain, but Americans will have to wait until June
28 to have it in theatres.
The story
is about a plane crew with motley characters travelling to Mexico D.F. But
during the trip some technical problems appear and the captains decide to turn
around until finding a solution.¡, but moreover, it exists the danger of
crashing when landing. With this situation, the passengers, who are divided
between first and second class, decide to enjoy what it could be their last
minutes alive.
That plot
carries a thought about the society and about the behavior of human beings in
infuriating situations. That is to say, that as some of the members of the
movie declared, it is a metaphor about the critic situation of the country and,
in general terms, about the value crisis of the occidental society and about
political leaders. On the other hand, it deals with homosexuality and
bisexuality.
Both the production
and the direction of the cast, a work that belongs to Almodovar, are especially
detachable in this long movie. It seems evident that the cinematographic
language of this Spanish director is each time more developed and refined, and
at the same time he preserves his peculiar style. Some oblique shoots are
especially eye-catching, and they can be interpreted as the overflow of
normality in the trip. These kinds of shoots were also present in other movies
like “The Skin I live In”, and they suggest visual dynamism. If there is
something that could be improved, this would be the sensation of being inside
an aeroplane. The audience can sometimes forget that the characters are in an
enclosed place.
Regarding
the screenplay, it has something singular and it is that the story is developed
practically inside a sparse space, and that is something that conditions the
writing. The script may be less deep than “The Skin I Live In”, but to
comprehend it completely, the audience must know that actually there is a
parallelism between the events and the social reality. Some current affairs are
addressed, like Opus Dei, The Legion Of Christ, the Spanish king’s infidelity,
nationalism, etcetera. These implicit mentions to the current affairs are made
explicit through the presence of newspapers .
The
cinematography, carried out by José Luis Alcaine, has a unique aesthetics, and
makes the whole movie to have cohesion. The main colors are red, blue, orange
and green. They are primary and secondary colors that complement themselves, as
the characters personalities do.
The cast
can not happen unnoticed, and it is in fact the main advertising slogan of the
film. They are indispensable in “I’m So Excited!” because the action depends on
their performances. Almost all of them are claimed and relevant Spanish actors.
Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz appear only at the beginning of the movie as
the technicians. Javier Cámara, Raúl Arévalo and Carlos Areces are the three
main air hostesses. These three characters are gays, but Carlos Areces detaches
especially. The captains are Anotonio de la Torre and Hugo Silva in the roles
of Alex and Benito respectively. Some of the passengers are Miguel Angel
Silvestre, Laya Martí, Lola Dueñas, Cecilia Roth, Guillermo Toledo, and
etcetera. Other actresses appearing are Blanca Suárez, Paz Vega or Carmen
Marchi. In short, an outstanding cast of actors that make possible this comedy.
There is
something else that is not usual to talk about, but this time it is too bold to
be avoided. That is the title credits, carried out by Estudios Mariscal. They
have a quite original design as they are based on simple shapes with
eye-catching colors, that include lines, arrows, polygons, and even a plane’s
shape.
As a
curiosity, the production of “I’m So Excited!” has counted on product placement
of several brands, including Chanel, Apple, Panasonic and some alcoholic drinks
brands.
Other
interesting fact is the name of the plane in which the story takes place:
“Chavela Blanca”. This is an evident tribute to the Costa-Rican born Mexican
Chavela Vargas that passed out on August, 5 2012. That singer had collaborated
in several movies of the director.
Concerning
the music, Almodóvar has decided to count one more time with the composer
Alberto Iglesias, who has been nominated three times to the Oscars. That
includes a version of the famous song “I’m So Excited!” that gives name to the
movie. It has also a song called “Para Elisa” by the Peruvian group Los
Destellos.
“Los
amantes pasajeros” is already the most successful release of Almodovar’s movies,
with an income of 1,925,655 euros on its first weekend in Spain.
All in all,
what is worth from the point of view of the one who is writing this is the
production, the performances and the message that it transmits.
“Last night I dreamt
that my life was going to change” I’m So Excited!
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