Labyrinth of Passion
Labyrinth of Passion (Spanish: Laberinto de pasiones) is a 1982 Spanish screwball comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Cecilia Roth and Imanol Arias. Antonio Banderas has a small role, marking his film debut.
| Labyrinth of Passion | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster by Iván Zulueta | |
| Spanish | Laberinto de pasiones |
| Directed by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Written by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Produced by | Luis Briales |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Angel L. Fernández |
| Edited by | José Salcedo |
| Music by | Bernardo Bonezzi |
Production company | Alphaville |
| Distributed by | Musidora |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
| Budget | ESP 21 million |
| Box office | ESP 98.6 million (Spain) |
Labyrinth of Passion, Almodóvar's second film, was independently produced with a shoestring budget which allowed for better production values than his previous film Pepi, Luci, Bom, and to employ a more complex narrative.
The plot follows a nymphomaniac pop star who falls in love with a gay Middle Eastern prince. Their unlikely destiny is to find one another, overcome their sexual preferences and live happily ever after on a tropical island. Although badly received by Spanish film critics, Labyrinth of Passion was a modest success and it quickly reached cult film status. The film is an outrageous look at love and sex, framed in Madrid of the early 1980s, during the so-called Movida madrileña, a period of sexual adventurousness between the dissolution of Franco's authoritarian regime and the onset of AIDS consciousness.