Kika

Plot synopsis:
Kika (Veronica Forqué), a naïve make-up artist, recalls how she met her lover Ramón (Alex Casanovas). She had given her phone number to his step-father, American writer Nicholas Pierce (Peter Coyote), and he had called her not for sex as she had hoped but to make up the younger man’s corpse. He was however merely catatonic and suddenly awoke. Ramón is a fashion photographer with voyeuristic tendencies who was traumatised by his mother’s suicide after several attempts. He lets Nicholas, who has returned to Madrid, live above their flat and the two discuss whether to sell the family home outside of town, Casa Youkali, which they jointly own. Ramón proposes to Kika, who accepts but feels conflicted as she has been cheating on him with Nicholas. Nicholas is working on a novel about a lesbian serial killer, but he makes ends meet by freelancing discreetly for an outrageously exploitative television show which focuses on bizarre and macabre events. The show is devised and presented by Andrea Caracortada ("Andrea Scarface", played by Victoria Abril), who wears over-the-top outfits and a persona to match. Andrea used to be a psychologist, and Ramón was once her patient, then her lover. He tells Nicholas that she scarred her own face when he left her and she is now stalking him. On her show, Andrea reports that Paul Bazzo, a dim-witted sex maniac and former pornographic actor jailed for rapes has escaped while attending a religious procession. He turns up at Ramón and Kika’s flat because their maid Juana (Rossy de Palma) is his long-suffering sister. Juana instructs him to tie her up, knock her unconscious and steal valuables, then hide at a cousin’s place. Paul however finds Kika napping and rapes her at knife point. An unseen voyeur peeping at Kika’s room notifies the police and two incompetent inspectors eventually turn up, shoot up the door and with great difficulty interrupt the rape. Paul escapes and bumps into Andrea, kitted out in a futuristic reporter’s outfit complete with helmet-mounted video camera. She wants an interview but he pushes her off and steals her motorcycle. She then enters the flat and harasses Kika. The police are puzzled at her presence, because although they often tip her off, they did not in this case. Andrea credits an unknown peeping tom for alerting her and broadcasts video footage of the rape on her show, causing Kika to break down.
In the aftermath, Kika finds Ramón to be no help and she overhears him confess to Nicholas that it was he who called the police: he liked to peep on her from his photographic studio's window. She leaves him in silence, as does a guilt-wracked Juana who confesses her part in the rape. Ramón meanwhile also tells Nicholas that he has held on to his mother’s diaries but never found the strength to read them. He does so however, after Nicholas has moved back to Casa Youkali, and discovers that the farewell letter to him that Nicholas had passed on was actually ripped from an old entry. Ramón confronts Nicholas and accuses him of murdering his mother.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Andrea and Ramón both spied on the flat from separate addresses. While reviewing footage of the upper floor, Andrea realises that Nicholas appears to have murdered one of his several girlfriends, Susana (Bibí Andersen) when she visited him. Connecting this to his latest book, she also goes to Casa Youkali armed with a pistol and finds a freshly dug grave in the garden. Nicholas barricades himself but she breaks in aggressively and offers to interview him and let him run away before the broadcast. They fight and shoot each other. Kika also turns up and Nicholas confesses with his dying breath that his novel about a lesbian serial killer is really a disguised autobiography, as Andrea had worked out. Kika also finds the bodies of Andrea, Susana and Ramón, but she is able to resurrect the latter a second time with electric shocks. Ramón had gone into shock after finding Susana's body in the bathroom.
While Ramón is taken to hospital, Kika picks up a stranded motorist and takes an instant interest in him, stating that she might need a new direction.

Tags: entertaining, comedy, intrigue, murder, flashback

Review:
Maybe this isn't as good as the bulk of Almodóvar's output: not having seen the bulk of his output, I'm in no position to tell.
Far from being hard to like, the characters were such that I found myself warming to the worst of them: Kika herself is completely adorable, the outrageous Andrea turned out to have a heart, of sorts - certainly she had an ethos -, and even Nicholas and Ramón revealed some human traits.
No matter: the film isn't about him, anyway.There's nothing gruesome about "Kika", nothing cruel, nothing hard to watch.
(Well, maybe a touch of blood in one final scene, but I can forgive that.) There's a lot of sex, no doubt, but none of that terribly EARNEST stuff one finds in American movies...[I'm about to reveal something.
Stop reading now if you haven't seen the film.] ...One of the things I'm sure many critics objected to was the rape scene.
The entire extended sequence of which the rape is part is so delightfully ridiculous BECAUSE, not in spite of, all the characters' perfect clarity of purpose.If this IS one of Almodóvar's lesser works I shouldn't hesitate to see the rest..
What everyone in the press seemed to miss about this film was that it was a spoof on the media and especially the talk show mentality which has come to dominate our lives.
The central figure of the film is not so much Kika as it is Caracortada (scarface) who runs a real life television program featuring live footage from video cameras.
We are drawn into this web -- during the middle of a rape sequence, the rapist actually says something funny -- and in the audience with whom I saw the film when it premiered, many laughed (and then somehow gasped that they were laughing in the middle of a rape scene).
After all it features an extended rape scene played for laughs; the rapist himself is a porn star who has sexually assaulted so many girls that his sister forms an incestuous relationship with him to take his mind off raping even more women.
However, Kika was made by Pedro Almodóvar and for some reason he seems to be capable of making even the most grossly offensive material so completely ridiculous it comes at you in reverse and can be alarmingly funny.
The rape scene in Kika is comedic and before watching the movie I simply could not understand how such a thing could ever be.The film is named after the cosmetologist played by Veronica Forqué.
Well, that seems to be the general tone of the film here, as the director takes a central caricature and drops them into a mocking satire of grotesque farce, frightening colours and the continual abstractions of 1950's melodrama, all the while revelling in the juxtaposition of highbrow movie references and lowbrow humour.
Understandably, with such a giddy concoction of ideas, the film is something of a mess; with the collage of styles and somewhat awkward combination of film references combined with the over-the-top production design and characterisations of the director bombarding us from the first scene to the last, while some of the more outré moments of satire, including the (intentionally) morally bankrupt nature of the character "Scarface" and the near-infamous rape sequence that plays out in the same frivolous, high-camp approach as the rest of the film are sure to raise a few groans of disagreement from many of the less liberal of reviewers amongst us.Having said that, I personally feel that despite its position in Almodóvar's career as something of a creative misstep, there are still some incredibly intelligent and highly interesting ideas at work behind the film, some of which we have to really search for amidst the camp theatricality of the characters and the screaming kitsch of the narrative and its overall design.
It has certain similarities to Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960), with the comment on journalism and the depiction of the media against an episodic background that seems to go nowhere until the last twenty minutes of the film, at which point Almodóvar introduces a new strand to the drama that will probably make it necessary for a second or perhaps even third viewing to fully comprehend.
It also has the same interesting concept of the writer creating the story as it unfolds that we previously saw in the excellent Law of Desire (1987), with the character played by Peter Coyote writing a crime book that might be a veiled comment on his own character and role within the film, or might be the plot of the film itself.
However, unlike Law of Desire, the idea isn't carried off quite so well, with the notion eventually being pushed into the background as we focus more on "Scarface" and her trash TV empire that forces itself into the lives of the characters, creating an interesting comment on the idea of cinema as voyeurism previously foreshadowed in the "keyhole" iconography of the opening sequences, and the thread of exhibitionism that is cemented by the film's male lead, the photographer Rámon.Throughout the film these themes jostle for our attention as we watch the drama unfold from an affluent apartment building overlooking an obviously artificial recreation of night-time Madrid, as the characters seem to just drift from one scenario to the next in a way that doesn't always make sense until pondered over in light of the film's somewhat enticing "twist" ending.
Ultimately, you could argue that with Kika (1993), Almodóvar really bit off more than he could chew, as he takes full advantage of the larger dramatic canvas offered to him by the international success of Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up!
It's a self-indulgent work, without question, but I feel for an artist of Almodóvar's calibre, such indulgences are excusable; especially when the purging of such indulgences eventually leads to work of the impeccably high-standard of Live Flesh (1997) and All About My Mother (1999).
The film is also a triumph of perfect casting, though one does wonder why Coyote - with his voiced awkwardly dubbed into Spanish - is present over a greater actor like Eusebio Poncela, who in my mind would have been perfect for the part?Other than that rather odd choice, we have the film tied rigidly to the underrated performance of Veronica Forqué, who manages to convey the moves from comedy to tragedy without compromising the colourful tone or her somewhat ditzy characterisation.
Certainly, I can understand why many wouldn't like this film, what with the provocative nature of the tone, the lapses in character and the occasional slow pace, but there are still some interesting touches that should make this required viewing for anyone already familiar with the director and his work.
As with the other Almodóvar films that I've seen from this era, Kika is bright and vibrant and filled with moments of keenly observed character-play and fanciful farce against an approach to film-making that rivals the very best of contemporary European cinema..
Although the film is ostensibly about "Kika," she is actually only one character featured in this raunchy, ensemble comedy.The plot here is all over the place!
This is not necessarily bad--one character ties into another character's life and the focus of the movie moves in a circular manner which eventually returns to our heroine, the naive but lovable Kika (well-portrayed by Verónica Forqué).This film is funny!
It's a combination of "There's Something About Mary," Woody Allen at his zaniest, and "Sex and the City."  Good for a laugh, especially for the poor dubbing of Peter Coyote's Spanish..
When Pedro Almodóvar begins a film in such a voyeuristic fashion, everything seems right in the world.Such is the opening sequence of Almodóvar's 10th full-length feature, Kika.
A twisted tale of murder, rape, incest and just about every other adjective describing a vulgar or sinful act, Kika is at times hard to watch but usually even harder to turn away from.
But while its tangled web of intertwining characters and story lines is compelling enough not to lose interest, the manner through which it maintains that interest does not prove to be worth the entertainment.You're probably wondering why I would be driving you away from a film that sounds so engaging.
If you are familiar with Almodóvar's work, it will be much easier for you to both grasp and handle this film.
If you have heard of Almodóvar's reputation but have never seen his films, this is not the place to start.
With a reputation for pushing the limits, Almodóvar is usually successful in delivering even the most perverse films in a tasteful manner.That is where Kika fails: It is full of content but lacking delivery.
But with the direction it chose, trying to be a dark (pitch dark) comedy, the subject matter is too tasteless to work.To prove my point, let's do a little role playing.
I will be the enthusiastic screenwriter pitching my story to you, the money-hungry studio executive half-heartedly listening to my idea for the next screwball comedy: OK, so Ramón is a young man whose mother commits suicide for reasons that may or may not point to her unhappy marriage with Ramón's stepfather, Nicholas.
Eventually, Kika decides to make it a family affair by secretly having sex with Nicholas, Ramón's womanizing stepfather.This is when it gets good.The witness to everything is Ramón's lesbian housemaid, Juana.
Against his sister's pleas, he rapes Kika for what seems like hours.
The most frustrating part about the film is that Almodóvar could have made this into a powerful drama, as he did with Talk to Her and Bad Education.
She adds nothing to her part and is especially painful to watch during her emotionless and even smart alecky rape.The rape scene itself is the film's biggest red flag.
No matter how hard you try, even if you are Pedro Almodóvar, making comedy out of such an emotionally charged issue as rape will prove improbable if not impossible.With that said, Kika is a blow to Almodóvar fans who find themselves defending his films as artistic not licentious.
This was the first Almodóvar film that I saw, and I would still say that it's one of his better movies.
It's yet another highly unusual film by the Spanish director, filled with weird situations and his typically unorthodox style.
Victoria Abril in same kind of role of the powerful/seductive woman who impose the order to a complicated/ fragile universe, Peter Coyote as the best choice for Nicholas, Alex Casanovas as a kind of victim who needs the woman's support.
In his obvious effort to "keep pushing the envelope," filmmaker Pedro Almodovar forgot how to concoct a coherent story with characters you care about.
Maybe, after some early successes, he just wants to shock people.This Spaniard's films are consistently twisted.
Has anyone noticed how many low-life films, in addition to this one, Peter Coyote has been in?His female co-star, Veronica Forque, plays an extremely annoying character who does nothing but yak on and on.
"Kika"is wildly funny with lots of typically Almodovar twists, gorgeously acted and stunningly filmed.
I have seen most of his films, and each is so different that it's hard to compare them, but this is right at the top along with "Talk to Me", "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", and one or two others.
More of an ensemble comedy than one would expect for a film titled after a single character, 'Kika' focuses on how the lives of several Spaniards intersect, including a widowed author, his jaded son, the son's reporter ex-girlfriend, a porn star, the porn star's lesbian sister and the makeup artist the sister fancies.
It takes quite a while for the trajectories of the characters to overlap and 'Kika' seems a little all over the place at first with bizarre seemingly random incidents like a graveyard murder and placing makeup on a sleeping man thought dead.
As the movie progresses though, everything fits into place surprisingly well with the highlight being arguably the funniest rape scene ever filmed.
While a comical treatment of the subject might sound in bad taste, the media frenzy that the rape causes in the film makes for an excellent satirical target.
Almodóvar's satire would have, however, benefited from the rape occurring earlier with more focus on the aftermath and Victoria Abril who, dressed in full-body camera-suit (!), films and unthinkingly broadcast it.
There is also a great twist with Peter Coyote's character that deserves more screen time rather than being thrown in at the end, but for all its unevenness and roundabout first half hour, 'Kika' is a reasonably involving motion picture at the end of the day..
Over all, I liked this film (especially Alex Casanovas....mmmmm....).
This movie has Almodovar's typical outrageous characters, but I thought things got a little out of control in the last 15 to 20 minutes, what with the sudden violence.
The only other possible misfire in this movie in my humble opinion was the escaped-con ex-porno actor and brother of Rossy de Palma's character, in the rape scene, which was a bit much.
I had the feeling that Pedro Almodovar's creativity went downhill in the mid-90s, after "Women at the Verge..." Since that wonderful film, Almodovar has done nothing but to provide us with weak stories and movies with extremely unrealistic situations.I personally consider "Tacones Lejanos", "La flor de mi secreto" (yuuuck!), and "Kika" his less consistent work.
Here Pedro Almodovar tries to stick to his formula by copying himself, recycling characters and situations he already sold to us.Besides the incredible plot-holes and unrealistic scenarios, "Kika" has two things that I really disliked in the film: First, Veronica Forque as "Kika." Ms. Forque has to be one of the most annoying actresses I've ever seen.
Let's hope there is one as the viewer is in the company of some dumb girl called Kika who is looking for the love of her life and somewhere she can't decide between a father and son.
To tell something very simple, Almodovar thinks it's better to mix that up with some stupid detectivestory, something psychological (a dumb performance from Veronica Forque who plays a sort of SF=inspired TVpresentator who is looking for freaks), something hilarious (if you can make rape like slapstick then Almodovar is your guy) and actors who are completely not at their place, Peter Coyote for instance.
The worst Almodovar film by far (and I've seen every one but Flower of My Secret and High Heels).
Rape is again treated nonchalantly by Almodovar, and Veronica Forque, who I'm told by my film professor was supposed to emulate Marilyn Monroe, is both irritating and flaky.
I want to rescue this soundtrack and give it a deserving film.I did not find the movie funny, satirical or entertaining.
I love a good satire as much as the next person but this I just found disturbing at times and a waste of time the rest, despite Peter Coyote.
Ramon, who is not dead, is revived by Kika's attentions and she then moves in with him.Pedro Almodovar makes some stylish, colorful movies and he loves his women.
This film is no exception in that matter, possibly being the closest to an obscene movie that he has made (the sex scenes go beyond what you might expect from Cinemax-type movies!).
One of the best Almodovar films ever.
Kika is a funny movie-but it's also dramatic.
Andrea Caracortada (A superb Victoria Abril)is a symbol of those people.Her performance is just one good reason to see this movie.
I am not sure what Pedro was thinking when he wrote this film, considering he made the Oscar-nominated 'Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' five years earlier.The film tries too hard to be a comedy.
Veronika Forque is over-the-top in her performance, which is the point in most of Pedro's films, but this is exaggerated.
There is nothing comedic about the infamous rape scene, nor should rape be classified as comedy ever.I do appreciate the character Andrea, because she represents the media in how she considers every horrific event as news entertainment.
This movie is called "Kika" yet does not tell the story of the cosmetologist, just smalls bits of it.
I know this is supposedly a comedy, but the raping scene it's just awful and Kika's reaction afterward even more unrealistic.
There is no director whose films embody the strange spirit of the new wave movement of the 60s like Pedro Almadovar.
No film since 'Women' (until the recent 'All About My Mother') has captured his pre-fame brilliance and during that dry spell came one of the worst, a little disappointment named 'Kika'.The main topic of discussion given to 'Kika' has been it's politically incorrect rape scene played here for laughs but comes off as ridiculous and uncomfortable.
But seething around that scene is Almadovar's target - the rape given by the media into the private lives of anyone who ever takes their clothes off.
The villain of the piece is a tabloid journalist named Andrea Scarface who runs a hot TV show called 'Today's Worst' and buzzes around on a motorcycle with a camera mounted on her helmet hoping to catch crimes as they happen.Andrea's former lover is now seeing the title character, a shapely cosmetologist with a big mouth named Kika whose personality is infectious but (I believe) would have been better served in a different movie.Kika is currently being lusted after by her lesbian maid (Almadovar regular Rossy de Palma) and the maid has a chauvinistic brother who is not only an ex-porn star but who's first day out of jail leads to aforementioned rape scene.
Also attached to the story is an expatriate writer (Peter Coyote) whose wife's murder remains a mystery and has driven him nearly comatose.'Kika' feels like a first draft, there is little interest in the underwritten characters and most of the outrageous scenes exist, not for laughs but just for the sake of being outrageous.