The best Pedro Almodóvar films
The top 3 according to 29 votes from people: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown · All About My Mother · Parallel Mothers. (Updated Dec 15, 2025.)
The best of Almodóvar's filmography according to rankings in the Spanish press (Telecinco, eCartelera, El Palomitrón) and FilmAffinity and IMDb ratings.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 15
-
1
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
1988. Carmen Maura, a spiked gazpacho and the comedy that made him famous worldwide; Oscar-nominated.
-
2
All About My Mother
1999. Cecilia Roth searches for her son's father in Barcelona; Almodóvar's first Foreign Language Oscar and Best Director at Cannes.
-
3
Parallel Mothers
2021. Two first-time mothers and the memory of Civil War mass graves; Volpi Cup for Penélope Cruz.
-
4
Law of Desire
1987. Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura and a young Antonio Banderas; the first film from his company El Deseo.
-
5
High Heels
1991. Victoria Abril and Marisa Paredes as daughter and singer mother, with 'Piensa en mí'.
-
6
Talk to Her
2002. Two men care for two women in comas; Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
-
7
What Have I Done to Deserve This?
1984. Carmen Maura as an exhausted housewife in a tower block on the outskirts of Madrid.
-
8
The Skin I Live In
2011. Banderas as an obsessed surgeon; his foray into thriller, almost horror.
-
9
The Room Next Door
2024. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore; his first feature in English and a Golden Lion in Venice.
-
10
The Flower of My Secret
1995. Marisa Paredes as a romance novelist in crisis; the start of his more sober period.
-
11
Julieta
2016. Based on three stories by Alice Munro, with Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte.
-
12
Volver
2006. Penélope Cruz and a return to La Mancha; its actresses shared the Best Actress award at Cannes.
-
13
Pain and Glory
2019. Antonio Banderas as the director's alter ego; Best Actor at Cannes and seven Goyas.
-
14
Matador
1986. Assumpta Serna and Nacho Martínez bound by desire and death.
-
15
Bad Education
2004. Gael García Bernal in a noir melodrama about abuse at a religious school; it opened Cannes.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 15… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
-
16
Live Flesh
1997. Javier Bardem and Liberto Rabal in a thriller of passion based on Ruth Rendell.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (4)
Revisitando su filmografía y Hable con ella sigue siendo la que más me remueve.
Volver es preciosa, Penélope cantando el tango, se me pone la piel de gallina.
Todo sobre mi madre primera, de acuerdo. Pero Dolor y gloria es la más personal y para mí la mejor.
Matador tan abajo... con Antonio Banderas joven y Assumpta Serna, es una locura de película.