What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Gloria works herself to the bone cleaning the apartments of Madrid residents who are wealthier than she is. At home, her unemployed husband, her eccentric mother-in-law, her two sons, and endless financial problems await her. To keep her head above water, she turns to amphetamines, but her daily life is still spiraling further and further out of control. In Gloria’s world, however, nothing is quite ordinary – alongside her domestic troubles, there are telekinetic children, art forgers, bizarre neighbors, and improbable coincidences.

One of Pedro Almodóvar’s most important early films is also his most subversive portrait of the working class. The director weaves social commentary with black comedy, melodrama, and absurdity, creating a story about women left to fend for themselves in a modern city.

Carmen Maura, one of Almodóvar’s greatest muses, shines in the role of Gloria. This is a film full of humor and emotional truth, in which everyday frustration becomes the starting point for an explosive mix of realism and wild imagination.