Cinema: Loving Pedro

The word for life in Spanish ought to be Almodovar. As in Pedro, the writer-director and all-round vital force in two decades of mostly terrific movies. He loves to tell stories, whether in his 13 features or across a restaurant table.

This enchanting chatterbox, with the round face and electrified hair of a Madrid muppet, makes you believe the oldest myth of cinema: that the magic is real, that movie people in person are as delightful, as bigger-than-life, as they are on the giant screen. Thus the truest compliment to pay his movies--those tangy, nourishing stews of bent men and brave...