Episode Details

This week on pplpod, we dive into the colorful, controversial world of Pedro Almodóvar’s 1989 classic, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Átame!). We break down the breakout performance of a young Antonio Banderas as Ricky, a released psychiatric patient who kidnaps an actress (Victoria Abril) with a plan to force her to fall in love with him so they can marry and have children.

Join us as we discuss:

• Genre-Bending: How Almodóvar blends elements of horror and thriller with romantic comedy to create what he calls a "romantic fairy tale".

• The Controversy: The legal battle against the MPAA that ensued after the film received an X rating—due in part to a scuba diver toy—and how this movie was instrumental in the creation of the NC-17 rating.

• Beauty and the Beast: The film’s exploration of Stockholm syndrome as a parody of marriage, and its thematic links to classic "taming the beast" narratives like King Kong.

• The Music: The use of Ennio Morricone’s thriller-style score and the iconic closing singalong to "Resistiré".

Whether you view it as a story of "sweet human bondage" or a problematic depiction of abduction, we unpack why this film remains the director's clearest—and most debated—love story.