Implicit Biblical Motifs in Almodóvar's Hable con ella and Volver The Bible as Intertext

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Abstract: This article explores implicit biblical motifs in two films by Pedro Almodóvar: Hable con ella (2002) and Volver (2006). Implicit motifs designate echoes to biblical texts that have textual basis but cannot be proven intentional. The article starts by providing some theoretical basis by referring to the notion of intertextuality and suggesting criteria. It then traces biblical motifs in the two films mentioned above (both in individual scenes and in the general plot), whether they occur directly, through gender or generational reversals or through the mediation of other texts. The reinterpretation or transgression of biblical motifs shed light on the film's own cultural context and on the intertextual process in general.