Fresh off his successful collaboration with Bernardo Bertolucci, composer Ryuichi Sakamoto linked up with another European auteur, Pedro Almodóvar. Underappreciated by critics from his homeland, High Heels (1991) is the Spanish filmmaker’s attempt at a mother-daughter melodrama that takes its inspiration from Hollywood classics such as Mildred Pierce and Imitation of Life. There is high drama between a famous singer, her ex-lover, and her newscaster daughter. The film was widely popular among cinemagoers and was awarded the César Award for Best Foreign Film in France. Sakamoto’s sweeping main theme blends in seamlessly with Almodóvar’s striking visual style, to say nothing of the lovelorn ballads and Spanish-inspired jazz.

Pedro Almodóvar (b. 1949, Spain) is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. Known for his genre-bending blend of melodrama, camp, and humour, his films explore themes including family, desire, and identity. In 1980, his debut feature film Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap, which is infused with cultural and sexual freedom, became popular among cult film lovers and symbolised the post-Franco countercultural wave in Spain. His complex characters, liberating spirit, and striking visual style established him as a major voice of his era. He has won numerous awards, including Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars in 2002 for Talk to Her and Best Director at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for All About My Mother.