Pedro Almodovar’s revisits comedy with I’m So Excited!

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s latest film I’m So Excited! is a raunchy comedy that the Oscar-winning director said marks a return to his roots as a satirist even as it delivers biting commentary on modern-day Spain.

The Spanish-language movie, which opens the Los Angeles Film Festival on Thursday and will be on limited release in US cinemas on June 28, follows passengers on a flight from Spain to Mexico City after their aircraft experiences a serious malfunction.

Almodovar, 63, returns to his comedy past after exploring more dramatic themes over the past decade, including 2002’s Talk To Her — which won him a best original screenplay Oscar — and 2011’s The Skin I Live In.

“During the 1980s, I made a lot of comedies, so this was like returning to my roots,” Almodovar said. “I think I just needed to make something lighter.”

The film stars several actors who previously worked with Almodovar, including Javier Camara, Lola Duenas, Cecilia Roth and Blanca Suarez. Spanish Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz also make appearances.

While I’m So Excited! was intended to play for laughs, Almodovar said it is also a metaphor for Spain that has been hit by a two-year recession that has left about a quarter of its workforce jobless.

The director said the film reflects the “political corruption and financial embezzlement” that has ensnared the country, and its banking crisis that required a European Union-backed bailout last year.

“What is metaphorical (in this movie) is that journey which consists in turning around in circles without knowing where they are going to land,” Almodovar said. “They need an emergency landing but don’t know exactly who will be commanding (it).”

He added, “There is a lot of fear and uncertainly — two words that define my feeling as a Spanish citizen.”