Asignatura Aprobada (1987)

I am not really sure why none of the plot synopses of Asignatura Aprobada (Course Completed) on the internet is correct. This is not a film about a man who has several affairs. In fact he doesn't even have one! Asignatura Aprobada is a film about a man who is reckoning with being alone and the decisions he's made that have brought him to his solitude. He is an asshole – something he freely admits to his son and friends – and he chased away his girlfriend, whom he loved deeply.

Asignatura Aprobada is about growing old and time and regret and not knowing what to do next. It's about not being able to stop yourself from saying the wrong thing and being too self centered to make the other people in your life more important. It's a great film. I also love Garci's filmmaking. He refuses to give us any exposition, starting off immediately with layers upon layers, usually with a game that we can't trust. It's a technique of theatricality that Almodóvar will also favor. In fact, there is much of Almodóvar in Asignatura Aprobada – although Garci's work is very, very heterosexual – and their films would probably benefit from being analyzed side by side.