Law of Desire (1987) on Netflix
NC-1719871h 42mComedyDramaThriller
Pablo, a film director in Madrid, loves Juan, who does not return his affection. His transgender sister Tina, an actress, raises Ada. At a play's opening night Pablo meets Antonio, an admirer.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.1/1015,614 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Pablo Quintero writes and directs films and plays in Madrid. He is in love with Juan, a much younger man who spends the summer working in a bar in his southern hometown and does not answer Pablo's affection with the intensity he wants. Pablo's sister Tina, a trans woman and struggling actress, was left by her partner, a model, and now cares for the model's ten-year-old daughter Ada. For a new project Pablo writes a stage monologue for Tina. At its opening night he meets Antonio, a young admirer of his films, and takes him home. Antonio treats the night as the beginning of a relationship.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Law of Desire (1987)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The gay subject matter made The Law of Desire difficult to finance: Spain's ministry of culture first refused support, and only after the intervention of Fernando Méndez-Leite, the government's film production representative, did it give 40 million pesetas; Lauren Films added 20 million.
- The Law of Desire was the first film to come out of El Deseo, the production company Almodóvar formed with his younger brother Agustín and with which he has produced all his subsequent films.
- A scene in which Tina enters her old school and confronts Father Constantino, the priest who abused her when she was a boy, formed part of the genesis of Almodóvar's later film Bad Education.
- Budget constraints kept Almodóvar from commissioning a full original soundtrack; he used classical pieces that were free or cheap instead, including Dmitri Shostakovich's tenth symphony for the opening credits and Igor Stravinsky's Tango for Pablo's car escape.
- The Law of Desire won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival while touring international festivals, and it made Almodóvar known internationally.
