Almodóvar’s High Heels revisited: a scandalous or thought-provoking portrayal of a judge?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Taking as its focus the 1991 movie High Heels by Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar, this article argues that the multi-layered narrative style of Almodóvar's films make them especially suited to the examination of present-day culture and society. High Heels is the story of a troubled mother–daughter relationship compounded with the subplot of a judge who is entrusted with the investigation of the murder of the daughter's husband. A judge by day, at night he performs as a drag artist in a gay bar (as well as occasionally slipping into other roles). The article contends that, rather than the two plots being in a hierarchical relationship, they are intertwined. Bringing her own biographical perspective as a former judge, Ruth Herz considers the significance of the Almodóvar's judge Dominguez's role as the one who navigates the intricate labyrinth of facts, feelings, and fantasies, and who mediates between the two plots. The unique method employed by Dominguez in his quest for the ‘truth’ challenges the deep-seated notion among the general public and in the judiciary itself of what judgecraft is. He demonstrates – albeit in a typically scandalous, parodic way – how the process of judging continues to remain enigmatic even under democracy, despite the claim of transparency and open courts.