The flower of my secret

THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET is a surprisingly restrained film (no drag queens, raunchy sex, or murders) from Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, and is considered one of his best. Romance novelist Leo (Marisa Paredes) experiences a nervous breakdown when she realizes her U.N. peacekeeper husband (Imanol Arias) no longer loves her, and the morbid novel she has just finished will never be accepted by her profit-minded publisher. Depressed, alcoholic, and suicidal, she begins to write for a Spanish newspaper under a pseudonym, starting with a scathing critique of her previous, best-selling work. The paper’s hard-drinking, overweight editor Ángel (Juan Echanove) falls in love with Leo, never realizing the "flower of her secret"--that her other pen name is Amanda Gris, and that she is the writer of the romance novels he loves. The delightful cast includes Rossy De Palma and Chus Lampreave--hilarious as Leo's constantly bickering sister and mother--and Carmen Elías as her best friend, a woman who trains doctors in soliciting organ donations from grieving relatives. Almodóvar fills this beautiful film with sharply realized scenes, rich helpings of Spanish flavor, and a vibrant compassion for his characters.