This is one of the first foreign films I have independently watched and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. Pedro Almodovar does an incredible job to make the film interesting to non-Spanish speaking viewers. He never lets the subtitles get in the way of viewing the film. He effectively uses precise shot choices and editing to maintain the viewers interest. He also strays from the traditional Hollywood style narrative. There is no clear protagonist or antagonist when the movie ends. .
The movie starts with a woman who is going into labor and is desperately seeking a ride to the hospital. She never makes it and has the baby on a bus en route to the hospital. The film skips 20 years later when her son, Victor, is seeking out a young woman who he met the previous week. The woman, Elena, is too busy to see him but he refuses to believe her and eventually gets into her apartment. There is a confrontation and he knocks her unconscious while defending himself. A neighbor calls the police and two men in the vicinity respond. One of the cops is a drunk because his wife is cheating on him and the other cop is the man who his partner's wife is having an affair with. There is a standoff and misunderstanding, Victor attempts to drop the gun and surrender but the drunken cop jumps him first and they are struggling over the gun. The drunken cop knows his partner is his wife's lover and in the struggle puts enough pressure on Victor's finger to shoot the gun at his partner leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Victor serves four years in prison and swears revenge on Elena and the cop he shot, David, who are now married. He meets another woman, Clara, who is Sancho's wife, the drunken cop. Soon they begin an affair while Victor is still in love with Elena. Eventually Clara and Elena both fall for him. Elena leaves her husband who is teamed up with David and goes to Victor's apartment.