Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Four By Almodóvar

A grave predicament, told through farce

Carmen Maura plays Pepa, a television actress whose lover has left her. As she considers suicide, eccentric encounters and a mounting run of interruptions pull her into a plot built on confusion and comic turns. The contrast matters: the humor grows out of Pepa’s crisis rather than replacing it with a lighthearted premise.

The museum describes the film as an Oscar-nominated international breakthrough for Almodóvar, blending melodrama with screwball farce and black comedy. Antonio Banderas and Rossy de Palma are among the supporting cast.

Further reading: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Four By Almodóvar | Oklahoma City Museum of Art | OKCMOAOKCMOA Oklahoma City Museum of Art ↗

An early milestone in the series

At 1988, this is the oldest-dated title in the four-film sequence as listed by the museum. The program places it after three other Almodóvar films, making the closing screening a chance to see an earlier point in the director’s career rather than simply another entry in a same-night double bill.

Maura, the film’s lead, was a frequent collaborator with Almodóvar. Her performance anchors the story’s shift between personal distress and escalating farce.

Further reading: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Four By Almodóvar | Oklahoma City Museum of Art | OKCMOAOKCMOA Oklahoma City Museum of Art ↗

Four films, Nov. 12–15

The series began Nov. 12 with The Skin I Live In, continued Nov. 13 with All About My Mother and Nov. 14 with Volver, then concludes with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown on Nov. 15. Each title has its own date; this screening is the final installment.

Further reading: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Four By Almodóvar | Oklahoma City Museum of Art | OKCMOAOKCMOA Oklahoma City Museum of Art ↗