The Flower of My Secret

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Cast & Crew

Marisa Paredes
Leo Macías

Juan Echanove
Ángel

Imanol Arias
Paco

Carme Elias
Betty

Rossy de Palma
Rosa

Chus Lampreave
Leo's Mother

Joaquin Cortes
Antonio

Manuela Vargas
Blanca

Pedro Almodóvar
Director

Pedro Almodóvar
Writer

Agustín Almodóvar
Executive Producer

Esther García
Producer

Alberto Iglesias
Original Music

Affonso Beato
Cinematographer

José Salcedo
Film Editing

Esther García
Production Design

Wolfgang Burmann
Art Director

Miguel López Pelegrín
Art Director

Miguel López Pelegrín
Set Decoration

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Audience Reviews for The Flower of My Secret

• Sep 17, 2011

  A romance novel writer attempts to save her failing marriage while pursued by her new editor. This Almodovar film is simple and simplistic melodrama. There are all the elements: an overly emotional protagonist who obsesses over the wrong man and tries to kill herself, a family drama with a dying mother, and some coincidences too coincidental to be believed. All of the film's flaws notwithstanding, I found Almodovar's dialogue less stilted and her characters a little more realistic than I normally do, so there were some diamonds in the rough. But overall, it's mostly rough.
  Jim H Super Reviewer
• Jun 09, 2011

  Minor but not less entertaining Almodóvar, filled with his usual visual flair and bizarre and soapoperarish trademarks.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Jan 28, 2010

  It will take a spectacular film from Pedro Almodóvar to knock <i>Hable con ella</i> and <I>Volver</i> out of the #1 and #2 positions on my favorite Almodóvar list. After seeing this one, I'm still looking for that better film. This didn't really strike me as bearing all the Almodóvar marks that I admire most. In fact, I found it a bit tedious. But I'll not give up my search. <b>Every</b> one of his productions is worth seeing at least once, just so you can know you've seen it. It's never a waste of time.
  Lanning : Super Reviewer
• Oct 16, 2009

  If the word "dull" could ever be applied to someone like Pedro Almodóvar, "The Flower of My Secret" may be the director's dullest film. The story is thin despite its diverse characterizations, and is wholly free of his usual spice and controversy. The strangest element is just a quirky exposition where the protagonist goes hours without being able to remove some undersized boots. Maturely glamorous Marisa Paredes plays Leocadia ("Leo" for short), a best-selling romance novelist who writes under the pseudonym "Amanda Gris." Her marriage to a distant, military husband is falling apart, so she has become disillusioned with her literary niche. Hoping to expand her range, she pitches herself as a different sort of writer to Angel, the editor of a local newspaper. An attachment between these two grows and is quite sweet (pudgy, bearded Angel is hardly a typical movie lover), but there's just not much juice to the story beyond this. Mainly, the issue is about Leo being in the odd position of competing with herself, due to her writing being sold via three different identities. Leo's housekeeper and her son also play a role, but they're mostly included to justify an exotic dance performance near the end. A side plot focused on Leo's bickering sister and mother adds colorful dialogue but fails to go anywhere. There is a brief, fascinating glimpse of traditional weaving with about 20 minutes to go -- it added nothing to the story, but I'd be interested to learn more about this craft.
  

  Super Reviewer