Law of Desire: Almodóvar’s tragic hero

I started writing about Pain and Glory (Dolor y Gloria) and then I knew I couldn’t post it due to spoiling the whole movie for any person who hasn’t watched it yet.

And it’s quite possible you have no clue what I’m talking about.

But, that’s OK.

Find it and watch it. Pain and Glory, that is. Watch it! And I’ll soon enough post my opinion/analysis of it.

Until then, let me (as if you have a saying over this) share my thoughts about Law of Desire (La Ley Del Deseo). This is a strictly character analysis (big word here… affection is the right one), I have no intention on analysing cinematography or the script or the beautiful shots of all the beautiful people Almodóvar used to tell one version of his story.

It is written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It was released in February of 1987, so it was most probably shot in the previous year. It was the first film Almodóvar made independently with his own production company El Deseo.

Law of Desire was Almodóvar’s first work centred in homosexual relationships exploring the unrestrained force of desire. Its themes are: love, loss, gender, family, religion, abuse, sexuality and the close link between life and art.

The story is set in Madrid and other towns, and follows the story of Pablo, a movie and theatre director and screenwriter, and how unwillingly his actions bring tragedy to the lives of those he loves. Tina Quintero is his sister, an actress, mostly working with and for him. She’s the guardian of a ten year old girl, Ada. Juan is Pablo’s young lover. Antonio is a young man who becomes obsessed with Pablo as a person and as an artist. Their lives will become intertwined in ways that will change them and their relationships forever.

If you haven’t watched Law of Desire, this is the right moment to click back. What follows is full of spoilers. And lot’s of adoration. It’s sickly sweet how much adoration you’ll find here.

 

Inspirational music

I used to write hours upon hours. The last year and a half, I had lost my will to type. I’m sure if typing could be done on its own while I was narrating to my computer I’d have at least three books finished by now. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. It would have been writing exercise.

Now, that I’m getting slowly my mojo back, I remember that I liked listening to music while writing. And what music was that? Well, my favourite of course. Strangely enough, I mever listen to instrumental when I write or jazz. I prefer my favourite melancholic tunes accombanied by lyrics written by great lyricists like Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and heart breaking voices such Brett Anderson’s (suede) and Stuart Staples’ (tindersticks), or Nick Cave’s and Leonard Cohen’s.

So one of the added good restarting writing did to me was relistening to my favourite songs and artists and discovering new bands like Beecake.

To write what you fear…

…not to fear what you write

Words on their own have no strength, no power. There’s no beauty. A writer needs more than words. The Writer needs grammar and syntax, they need ideas and passion. Writing is an experiment destined to either succeed or fail.

There are times the words without the passion or the idea succeed. And you just sit there and read and wonder. How’s that possible?

And then there are works that were meant to become classic but where pushed aside at their own time. That, however, is possible and awfully comprehensible. Time periods, values, ethics and all that jazz.

Magic is created with the right time, with the right ingredients. And a fire is lit that won’t go down.

I use my fears

I depend on them

Emotions created during their time

Are powerful

Their strength consumes me

My fingers bleed while inside my head

The demons play

It’s so wrong until the right moment comes

And I turn those fears to my advantage

Until they’ll hide from me in tears…

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