Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Thehibikiew Not even bad in a good way

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

blanche-2 "Dark Habits" from 1983 was Pedro Almodovar's first film made with a decent producer, film company, and budget. There are signs of his later brilliance in films like "Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "All About My Mother," but even for the quirky Almodovar, this is one strange film."Sister Act" is vaguely reminiscent of this movie, only in the fact that "Dark Habits" concerns Yolanda, a nightclub performer (Cristina Sánchez Pascual) whose boyfriend (Will More) overdoses while she's in his apartment. Yolanda panics, afraid she will be accused of killing him by the police, so, wearing her red sequined gown, she hides out in a Madrid convent.This is unlike any convent depicted before or since. Some of the nuns, like Yolanda herself, are drug addicts, doing heroin and coke. One nun has a pet tiger. Another writes sexy novels under a pseudonym. Another nun designs fashions and is in love with the local priest. The Mother Superior is a lesbian and falls in love with Yolanda. The nuns all have strange names, depicting that man is the lowest form of animal: Sister Snake, Sister Rat, etc.The big problem at the convent at the moment is that the Marquesa (Mary Carillo), now that her generous husband is dead, has decided to withdraw patronage from the convent. One of the nuns gets information about the Marquesa's daughter and decides to blackmail her with it."Dark Habits," I believe, suggests the Movida Madrilenia, a hedonistic countercultural movement that took place in Madrid after the death of Franco. It was meant to represent a new Spanish identity, an identity characterized by freedom of expression, use of recreational drugs, and even a new dialect. It was a hedonistic culture that more or less destroyed itself by the overuse of heroin. At the end of the era, Madrid was left with drug addicts, dead junkies, people leaving Madrid for their original hometowns, and for others, rehabilitation and a useful life.The convent serves as a microcosm of this movement. Here one sees art, drugs, music, and homosexuality.A fascinating if sometimes uncomfortable film, and certainly not representative of the later Almodovar, who himself has distanced himself from this offbeat, dark film.

jm10701 Ignore the mediocre reviews. Dark Habits is delightful, no less so than Almodóvar's later, more popular movies. This is not in any way interesting only because it shows how much better he got later. That's absurd.This movie is great fun, deadpan, outrageously irreverent but never mean-spirited, affectionate, hilarious but in a subtly low-key way, wildly imaginative and yet gentle and sweet. I loved it. Julieta Serrano as the Mother Superior and Chus Lampreave (who has a larger role than in his later movies) as Sister Alley Rat are especially delightful.

contact_charlie It's not very often that you can go back this far in a director's career and find a film this good.It's sure as hell not sentimental; it's a black comedy - you've got parody, satire and a dark-humour rolled into one.There already signs of Almodóvar's skill at film-making, already touches of Almodóvar's trademark whit and humour. It starts out with a girl at a crossroads in her life: on the one hand, a drug fuelled crazy future… the other, the stability of a convent. Or is that the other way round? For those familiar with Almodóvar's films, there are some of the reoccurring themes you'd expect to find, amongst others: prostitution, nuns, drugs, and dealers. More specifically, Dark Habits seems to deal with (to me anyway) a novelist (Almodóvar's film's often touch on creativity/ those involved), the idea of what is good, and along a similar vain, our abilities to turn a new leaf.Obviously being in subtitles is going to exclude this for some, but others are whole-heartedly recommended; even if it isn't the best Almodóvar film, I've found it the most enjoyable so far. (I haven't heard a quote better than "I'm Sister Rat of the Sewers. I was keen to meet you" recently.)Oh, and look out for the tiger ;-)

cyn_duncan This is early Almodovar, and if you've seen his other early films, you know what to expect. If you haven't seen them, then you might be surprised. The film is funny, unpredictable, and endearing in a kinky, warped kind of way. Almodovar's nuns are wonderful characters. With straight faces and looks of piety, they do outrageous things without batting an eye. There are probably many ways to interpret the film, but I think it's about acceptance. We're all "sinners" in one way or another, as the nuns would say, and it's not up to us to judge or condemn other people. The sisters are very forgiving - in fact, they love sinners! - and they create a little haven where marginal people can find shelter. They are eccentric, they do things that mainstream society condemns, but they don't really do any harm to anyone and maybe even help some people find their path in life. This isn't the Catholic Church's idea of what a convent should be like, and I understand that very devout people would be offended by the way Almodóvar treats the subject. Still, he does it in a kind of gentle, good humored way and he offers an alternative vision of religious devotion that can make you laugh if you aren't too uptight about these things. Things don't always make sense, but that's fine, things don't make sense in life sometimes, either. Just sit back and watch, and enjoy the twists and turns.