This very early, low-budget Almodovar film displays his roots in the Spanish punk and gay scenes, which provided him with much material and collaborators for a film that bears a close resemblance to Nouvelle Vague cinema, and yet is distinctively Almodovar's film, with all its quirkiness and controversy.
The film is basically a love story between a young nymphomaniac girl, Sexilia (Cecilia Roth), and a homosexual boy, Riza Niro (Imanol Arias), the prince of an Arabic nation named Tiran on a voyage of self discovery. Their story is centred around the orgiastic world of underground punk music, where Sexilia is a 'scenester' and Riza Niro has suddenly found himself a vocalist, attracting Sexilia's interest. He has also, however, previously had a sexual encounter with a gay, Tiranian terrorist Sadec (a very young Antonio Banderas), who failed to recognise the prince at the centre of his groups kidnap plot due to the simple disguise of a wig. Sexilia, in turn, has become involved with Queti (Marta Fernandez Muro), her biggest fan, who is being abused by her father who allows himself to believe she is his schizophrenic wife. The film also features Sexilia father, an excellent reproductive scientist, who has a repulsion of physical intimacy, and the ex-Empress of Tiran who is seeking treatment from him.
The various characters interact in ways that don't necessarily affect the plot but give us an insight into their sexual behaviour in a rather Freudian approach, which particularly examines relationships with parents - which is noticeably peculiar. There's an unlikely flashback scene that manages to explain everyone's tastes but due to a confusingly ambiguous identity swap between Sexilia and Queti (with both characters eventually being played by Roth), we are ultimately left thoroughly confused.
The film contains many of the hallmarks that would later define Almodovar's work: a focus on parent/child relations, the foregrounding of ambiguous sexuality, disparate narratives running against each other, interconnected relationships, and a blasé approach to unsettling subject matter. 'Labyrinth of Passion' has the added bonus of featuring a camped up cameo of the youthful Almodovar as a concert host (pictured), performing a supposedly improvised song with a friend and clearly loving the attention.
The film is good fun but ultimately lacks any substance. I'd only really recommend it for those with a particular interest in Almodovar or Queer Cinema, who may find its youthful exuberance of more value than a stuffy old cineaste like me.
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