Law of Desire · reception & legacy
1987 · Pedro Almodóvar
How Law of Desire has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
A scandal-tinged hit in 1987 Spain that put Almodóvar on the international map a year before Women on the Verge — now it's canonised as a landmark of queer cinema and the moment his career turned serious.
What's debated
The perennial cinephile flex: arguing this, not Women on the Verge or All About My Mother, is where Almodóvar actually peaked.
Its footprint
Carmen Maura getting hosed down in the street is one of the indelible images of 80s European cinema, and the film's DNA runs through decades of queer melodrama; Almodóvar even named his production company El Deseo after it.
Where it stands
A 'you must have seen this' for anyone who claims to love Almodóvar — the deep-cut favourite that separates fans from tourists.