High Heels

Becky del Páramo, a famous singer, returns to Spain after fifteen years and finds her daughter Rebeca working as a television newsreader and married to Becky's former lover. When he is killed, both women are suspects. Almodóvar uses every convention of melodrama and hollows each one out. Victoria Abril plays Rebeca and Marisa Paredes plays Becky. The casting was the most talked-about element: Miguel Bosé plays both Judge Domínguez and the drag performer Letal, who are the same person. The role needed someone convincing in a judge's robes and on a stage in full drag. The songs were chosen to track the character's career, with Piensa en Mí and Un Año De Amor doing the heavy lifting. Almodóvar picked the Spanish rock singer Luz Casal to provide Becky's singing voice, and those recordings became the biggest of Casal's career. Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote the score, though Almodóvar later said he was not happy with it. It won the 1991 César for Best Foreign Film and grossed around 16 million dollars across Spain, France and the United States. Who it is for: viewers who love Almodóvar on mothers and daughters, and his use of colour. Who it is not for: anyone who needs a consistent genre. This moves from crime to melodrama to comedy without explaining itself.