SOURCE: "Almodóvar and the Tin Can," in Sight and Sound, Vol. 6, No. 2, February, 1996, pp. 24-7.

In the following interview, Almodóvar discusses his latest film The Flower of My Secret, his cinematic process, and Spanish politics.

[Smith:] You've told the Spanish press that The Flower of My Secret is your most La Manchan and most traditional film. But it strikes me that, with its references to NATO and Bosnia, to the newspaper El País and to Prime Minister Felipe González, this is your most European and most contemporary film.

[Almodóvar:] When I say the film's La Manchan I mean it's my most realistic film yet. Of course I'm not interested in naturalism: even if I made a documentary it would turn out to be a fictional work on that subject. Between what inspires me and what I actually make, there is always an element...