Los Amantes Pasajeros/I'm so Excited

Movie Name: Los Amantes Pasajeros
Year of Release: 2013

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Stars: Javier Camara, Raul Arevalo, Lola Duenas, Hugo Silva, Antonio de la Torre, Jose Luis Torrijo, Cecilia Roth, Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Blanca Suarez, Paz Vega, Jose Maria Yazpik

Genre: Comedy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:

The wonderfully gifted director Pedro Almodovar is back after the fantastic "La Piel que Habito". Whereas his previous effort was a dark thriller, "Los Amantes Pasajeros" is definitely a more lighthearted effort. The film follows the events that surround a flight departing Madrid towards Mexico. Due to the negligence of an airport crew member, the plane has problems with the landing gear, which forces the plane to fly around in circles trying to find a nearby airport to land. While this is taking place, the flamboyant crew tries to entertain their diversified first class passengers, which include a runaway banker involved in a financial scandal, a psychic, a high class prostitute and a hired killer, to name but a few.
"Los Amantes Pasajeros" is an attempt by the fantastic Pedro Almodovar to go back to his more lighthearted moments of previous comedies such as "Kika", where there's an outrageous component to the story, which also underlines a deep social commentary and criticism. This film in particular tries to underscore the current financial tribulations and scandals that are dominating Spain's economy. The film has a series of interesting and quirky characters, very typical of the director, but unlike his previous directorial output, none of these characters is particularly drawn out very extensively. Much like John Waters, Pedro Almodovar has always been a director who builds a universe that is thoroughly coherent, from a story, aesthetic and performance point of view - this film lacks a sense of genuine joy and transgression though. It's a lighthearted feature from one of the most distinct and consistent voices currently working in film these days.