Matador (NR)

‘Matador’ (NR)

Pedro Almodovar doesn't exactly film for the family. His latest "Matador" baits every bull imaginable -- murder, mutilation, suicide and rape being just a few of "Matador's" popcorn-incompatible themes. But the Spanish director swirls his cape over these chargers so imaginatively, shamelessly and inventively, his flamboyance wins the day.

Beautiful Maria Cardenal (Assumpta Serna), a criminal lawyer by day, develops a morbid thing for matador Diego (Nacho Martinez) after she sees him gored in the ring. Meanwhile the disabled matador, now teaching precision-killing at a bullfighting academy, gets into graphic mutilation movies and a little human-lancing himself. Diego's student Angel (Antonio Banderas), a repressed kid trying to prove himself, takes his admiration of Diego too far by trying to rape his teacher's girlfriend. Turning himself in, Angel admits (either guiltily or clairvoyantly) to a string of execution-murders around town, where the victims have been speared toro-style. And you thought all they did in Spain was make letter openers.

Imprisoned as a mass-killer, Angel gets represented by -- you guessed it -- Maria, who's trying to get close to her blood-lust heartthrob. Meanwhile, trying to make horn and tail of all this is the police inspector (Eusebio Poncela) who believes in Angel's innocence.

Almodovar throws chuckles in with these tormented alliances between ecstasy, death and tauromachy. When the inspector visits Diego's academy, he can't avert his gaze from the leotarded students. Almodovar then cuts to the inspector's, er, specifically focused points of interest. And when Angel turns himself in for the rape attempt, the female desk sergeant snorts "Some girls get all the luck." Almodovar himself plays a queen-of-a-director of a fashion show (of bullfight couture): "I told you not to shoot up in the dressing rooms," he yells at a model.

Those who've seen any of Almodovar's material (his "Law of Desire," made straight after "Matador," recently ended a successful run at the Circle Dupont) know the futility of outlining his work. It sounds like trashy Spanish television -- and it is, on one level. But the images and sounds (with nods to cinematographer Angel Luis Fernandez's flamenco color schemes and Ernando Bonezzi's provocative score) are too bold to dismiss.

"Matador," in Spanish with subtitles contains graphic material.

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