Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

peter billionaire A big disappointment. Right from the start, Leo (Marisa Paredes) is too weirdly frantic and needy. She cries way too much. It gets irritating. She is supposed to be intelligent and perceptive. Why can't she see that Paco no longer cares about her? He all but wears a sign. Betty says as much. Angel is instantly in love with Leo, although she is an obvious basket case.The arguments between Leo's mother and sister are a bit funny, but then they get irritating. Another irritating thing: Leo goes into a bar/café. She listens to the tragic song on the TV and she starts to cry. She goes on crying for way too long, with no dialogue. I hope you like the song, because it goes on forever. Some of the digressions are too much. Leo's cook is a great artist and makes a triumphant return to the stage. It just seems absurd and uncredible, not whimsical or funny. The long sequence of medical workers role-playing about organ donations was a confusing way to start the movie, although there was a payoff.This is a great role for Marisa Paredes. All of the other actresses are strong, too. The scenes of the women together are sometimes charming and always interesting and lively. Ultimately, there were too many plot twists and turns that were not convincing. Almadovar's next films were Live Flesh and All About My Mother, two of the great ones. They are completely absorbing, without the irritating and absurd elements of Flower of My Secret.

jackasstrange Very good and interesting film. Those who like stories dealing with paradox and stuff will love it. The acting by the leading actress, Marisa Paredes, is fantastic. The art direction is very good, love the contrast of the colors and how they affect our perception about the characters. It has good production values. Again, it may not touch in new grounds on filmmaking, but is an extremely enjoyable film regardless. Keep in mind that is the first Almodovar film I've watched, so yeah. I heard somewhere it disappoints the true "Almodovar" fans. Well, I cant say nothing about it other than I don't give a damn for now.

George Parker "The Flower of My Secret" follows a middle-aged married woman and somewhat neurotic novelist, Leo (Paredes), on the verge of divorce from the handwriting on the wall to the separation to the final realization and adjustments required to get her life back on track. There's little plot to be found in this linear dramady which sees Leo bumping into the people in her life for brief tete-a-tetes and bouncing off her emotional walls as she tries to cope with the inevitable. Not Almodovar's best work, this busy, mildly humorous, dialogue-intensive contempo Spanish flick received mild approval from critical corners and the public alike. Short on story but very well composed, "The Flower of My Secret" will play best with women, especially Spanish speakers or foreign film buffs. (B)

alice liddell The film famed for pivoting Almodovar's move away from formless farce to the rich delights of melodrama, which would produce his two masterpieces, LIVE FLESH and ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER. SECRET isn't quite up to those films (the mix of comedy and drama isn't quite digested) but is a wonderful start, with its amazing heroine, whose delusions and needs are revealed but never resolved; its typically eccentric supporting cast; its ruminations on the artist and her art - there are writers, editors, dancers, filmmakers all in the film - and secrets, both private and public; its silly men; its use of interiors and decor; Almodovar's still cherishable, unparalleled use of colour, allied with a new found sense of composition (the later films would reveal his increasing mastery of the camera); some extraordinary shots, especially the paper shower during the students' demonstration.