With The Skin I Live In, Almodóvar surpassed even his own standards, producing a film that went beyond his earlier work both in terms of elaborate plot-lines and recurring themes, particularly around issues of capture, concealment, identity, and revenge. Cast in the central role of Robert Ledgard – a diabolical surgeon beset by family misfortune – is Antonio Banderas, collaborating with Almodóvar for the first time since the unlikely love story that was Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990).

Banderas adds to the overall sense of style that both epitomises the film and eschews some of its more gory elements, but he also maintains a degree of ambiguity that allows the relationship between Ledgard and his captive – Elena Anaya dressed in body-stocking throughout – to take a series of fascinating and beguiling twists and turns (Notes by Alice Butler.) 

The IFI’s Focus on Pedro Almodóvar runs at the IFI from April 2nd to 24th. We are delighted to host a preview of Pedro Almodóvar’s new film I’m So Excited followed by a satellite Q&A with the director on April 23rd at 18.30. I’m So Excited opens at the IFI on May 3rd.