St. Mary's College of Maryland
Sunset over the River Grass

Questions? Contact Us!

Phone: 240-895-3007
Fax: 240-895-4449

Anthony Guzman
Coordinator, Office of Lifelong Learning & Professional Programs

Robin Bates Film Course

The Wild and Wondrous Films of Pedro Almodóvar

Few directors today can match the startling plots and arresting images of Pedro Almodóvar, one of contemporary cinema’s most interesting directors. Although his subject matter is almost always controversial and treads into taboo territory, the Spanish director gets us to look past our preconceptions and appreciate the complexity of the individuals involved.

The films will be shown at 7:00 pm in Cole Cinema at the Campus Center.  Dr. Robin Bates, Professor of English, will introduce each film and lead a discussion afterwards.  The cost of the course is $10.

Jan. 31

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown(1988) – Almodóvar’s breakthrough comedy is about an actress whose life is falling apart (but in interesting ways). (90 minutes)

Feb. 28

All About My Mother (1999) – Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, All About My Mother features a woman who, struggling to recover from her son’s accidental death, finds support in her friends, who include a transsexual prostitute and a pregnant nun (Penelope Cruz). (101 minutes)

Mar. 27

Talk to Her (2002) – Winner of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, the film is about a man who becomes obsessed with, and tirelessly tends to, a woman in a coma. (112 minutes)

Apr. 24

Bad Education (2004) – A film director is give a short story written by a childhood friend and lover about molestation at the hands of their Catholic school teacher.  Dark developments occur when he starts to adapt the story into a film. (106 minutes)

Click here for a listing of films featured in previous editions of the Film Course


Aerial view of St. Mary's College of Maryland campus

St. Mary's College of Maryland
18952 E. Fisher Rd
St. Mary's City, MD 20686-3001
240-895-2000