Spanish movies - "Boca a boca" and "The Flower Of My Secret"

Inspired with Woody Allen's "Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona" I have decided to take a look at some real Spanish directors and last night watched not one but two Spanish movies.

"Boca a boca" (released in English as "Mouth to Mouth") is not Almodóvar movie, though it could easily be one - same odd characters living on a edge of society, soon-to-be Almodóvar actors, very colourful sets and crazy music, spirit of Spain and everything absolutely lovable. Sorry Woody Allen, but you could never make something so delightfully funny and well, Spanish - maybe in his younger years Allen was full of spark but this movie reminds me that Allen's comedy days are long gone. Best of all is how this movie pokes fun at itself and movie industry - young Javier Bardem is struggling actor ready for everything just to get a shot in a "big American movie" (this includes some very funny, intentionally bad English)and he is a lovable dreamer raised on American movies but his heart of gold somehow leads him trough all the movie's complicated plot and hilarious twists. Supporting actors Josep Maria Flotats and beautiful María Barranco are delightful as well.

"The Flower of My Secret" somehow escaped me previously and to my biggest surprise this is Almodóvar that I was unfamiliar with - it burst with ideas, talents, fun and sub-plots.
Marisa Paredes is heroine here, a stylish lady with a poise but deeply self-destructive when it comes to men and the colourful bunch of characters around her all seem even crazier than she is - a paranoid mother, argumentative sister (wonderful, long-faced Rossy de Palma), gypsy maid who is actually brilliant flamenco dancer (Manuela Vargas), maid's dancer son (no other than Joaquín Cortés) and a wonderful, chubby newspaper editor (Juan Echanove) who might be the love she is searching for but completely unaware of it. "A woman without a man is like a cow without a bell" sighs her mother in rare moment of clarity and this lack of focus is what bothers Almodóvar's heroine the most, even though she lives comfortable life and certainly don't lack anything - it is a very likable tribute to old Hollywood "women's movies" and in fact, quotes from classic movies are abundant here. Bittersweet and lovely.