''What Have I Done to Deserve This?'' ( es, link=no, ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!) is a 1984 Spanish

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

film written and directed by

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

. The title is sometimes given with an exclamation mark at the end rather than a question mark. Starring

Carmen Maura María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'', ''¡Ay Carmela!'', '' Common Wealth'', and ...

, Ángel de Andrés López,

Chus Lampreave María Jesús Lampreave Pérez (11 December 1930 – 4 April 2016), known professionally as Chus Lampreave, was a Spanish character actress who starred in more than 70 films. She is internationally known for her roles in films by Pedro Almodó ...

and Verónica Forqué, the film follows the misadventures of an overworked housewife and her dysfunctional family. Almodóvar has described ''What Have I Done'' as a homage to

Italian neorealism Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...

, although this tribute also involves jokes about

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

, prostitution, and a

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

child.

Plot

Gloria, a downtrodden housewife, lives with her husband Antonio, mother-in-law and two sons in a small, shabby and overcrowded apartment located by the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

motorway. Besides taking care of her home and family, Gloria also works as a cleaning lady to make ends meet and takes

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...

to keep going. Her marriage to Antonio, a taxi driver, is on the rocks. Fifteen years earlier, in Germany, Antonio worked as a driver for Ingrid Muller, a German singer with whom he had a brief affair. His only mementos of their liaison are a signed photograph and a tape of her song ''Nur nicht Aus Liebe Weinen'' which he constantly plays and which Gloria detests. Antonio's services for Ingrid involved copying letters that she had allegedly received from

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

himself. In his taxi, Antonio meets the writer Lucas and Antonio casually mentions this fact to Lucas, who suggests that they forge Hitler's diaries for a big profit. There is also a book of Ingrid's memoirs written by a friend which contains letters from Hitler which Antonio helped forge. Antonio is trying to teach the art of forgery to one of his sons, as this talent will be his only inheritance. The younger son, Miguel, who is twelve, sleeps around with older men. When Gloria confronts Miguel, telling him she knows he has been sleeping with older men (including his friend's father), Miguel responds: "I'm the master of my own body." Gloria's eldest son, Toni, who is fourteen, wants to become a farmer and is saving up enough money to buy a farm by peddling heroin. The grandmother, who is addicted to soft drinks, shares the same dream of returning to her native village. Gloria's friends are her two neighbors: Cristal and Juani. Cristal is a prostitute with a heart of gold. Juani, is a bitter woman obsessed with cleanliness and vulgar ornaments, her daughter, Vanessa, has

powers, which she uses to destroy their apartment. Gloria's life has become unbearable. She has no hope, no money, no opportunities yet she is still required to pay for the apartment, the television, the telephone, the lighting, the heating, the rates, and the weekly shopping. Increasingly desperate to find extra money to pay the bills, she is forced to work for a couple of bankrupt writers; she has to put up with a lizard that Toni and his grandmother have brought home. Unable to pay for Miguel's dental treatment, Gloria has little hesitation in allowing Miguel to live with the dentist, a

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

. Miguel accepts once certain material conditions are met. Refused sedatives by a pharmacist without a prescription, the defeated Gloria returns home to find her husband preparing to take Ingrid Muller for a drive. An argument ensues, Antonio slaps Gloria, and she strikes him on the head with a leg of ham. Hitting his neck on the sink, he dies instantly. The police investigation does not discover Gloria's guilt. Toni and his grandmother leave Madrid for her village. Abandoned, Gloria contemplates committing suicide. She changes her mind when her son Miguel returns unexpectedly and says he wants to take care of her.

Cast

as Gloria: housewife and cleaning woman * Ángel de Andrés López as Antonio: Gloria's husband, taxi driver and forger of letters * Juan Martínez as Toni: their 14-year-old son and drug dealer * Miguel Ángel Herranz as Miguel: their 12-year-old son *

as Grandmother: Antonio's mother who lives with them * Verónica Forqué as Cristal: prostitute who lives in the same apartment block * Kiti Manver as Juani:

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notab ...

who lives in the same apartment block * Sonia Hohmann as Vanessa: Juani's daughter with telekinetic powers * Gonzalo Suárez as Lucas Villalba: writer who meets Antonio in a taxi * Amparo Soler Leal as Patricia: Villalba's wife * Katia Loritz as Ingrid Müller: German woman, Antonio's former girlfriend * Luis Hostalot as Polo: Policeman with erectile dysfunction * Javier Gurruchaga as Dentist who wants to adopt Miguel *

Cecilia Roth Cecilia Edith Rotenberg Gutkin better known as Cecilia Roth (; born August 8, 1956) is an Argentine actress. She is the winner of two Goya Awards and a European Film Award. She is known for being an " Almodóvar girl" and the "muse" of Fito P ...

as Woman in TV commercial *

as Playback 'La bien pagá' * Tinín Almodóvar as Bank teller * Carlitos as Dinero ("Money"): lizard

Background

''What Have I Done'', Almodovar's fourth film, became the first of his works to be released theatrically in the U.S. premiering to sold-out crowds as part of New Directors/New Films series, co-sponsored by the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

and the Film Department of the Museum of Modern Art. The film, set in the tower blocks around Madrid, depicts female frustration and family breakdown, echoing Jean-Luc Godard's ''

Two or Three Things I Know About Her ''Two or Three Things I Know About Her'' (french: Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle) is a 1967 French New Wave film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, one of three features he completed that year. As with the other two ('' La Chinois ...

'' and strong story plots from Roald Dahl's '' Lamb to the Slaughter'' and

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

's "A Day's Work" but with Almodóvar's unique approach to filmmaking. Technically, ''What Have I Done?'' is deliberately crude and the production values raw, a combined result of the film's low-budget as well as Almodovar's relative lack of experience. But the film's shabby look is in tune with the tale's squalid realistic context and social class of its protagonists. ''What Have I Done?'' was critically much better received than Almodovar's three previous films and put him on the movie map in America as a major talent to watch.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:What Have I Done To Deserve This? (Film) 1984 films 1984 comedy-drama films 1984 independent films 1984 LGBT-related films 1984 multilingual films 1980s black comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s French-language films 1980s German-language films 1980s Spanish-language films English-language Spanish films Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Pedro Almodóvar Films scored by Bernardo Bonezzi Films set in apartment buildings Films set in Madrid Films shot in Madrid LGBT-related black comedy films LGBT-related comedy-drama films Mariticide in fiction Social realism in film Spanish black comedy films Spanish comedy-drama films Spanish independent films Spanish LGBT-related films Spanish multilingual films