Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Kika Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 20, 2017

Winner of Goya Award for Best Lead Actress, Pedro Almodovar's "Kika" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new featurette with actors Victoria Abril, Rossy de Palma, and Anabel Alonso; archival interview with director Pedro Almodovar; archival cast and crew interviews; and more. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Kika

Kika is the most conventionally provocative of Pedro Almodovar’s films. Only the Spanish helmer could have shot the notorious sequence with the fugitive porn star and made it look so outrageously funny.

Veronica Forque plays the beautiful makeup specialist Kika who is hired by American writer Nicholas (Peter Coyote) to prepare the corpse of his deceased stepson Ramon (Alex Casanovas). Shortly after Kika arrives in Nicholas’ posh apartment and begins working the ‘corpse’ is revived, and after exchanging a few words with the handsome young man Kika realizes that she has fallen in love. Despite being quite a bit older than Ramon, Kika then quickly moves in his apartment, which is right under the one his stepfather resides in, and the two begin acting like a real couple. For a while Kika enjoys making love to Ramon so much that she nearly forgets that before meeting him she was frequently sharing Nicholas’ bed. Meanwhile, Nicholas’ former psychotherapist, Andrea (Victoria Abril), who is now obsessed with her new TV show, begins stalking him in a desperate attempt to expose the many dark secrets that she is convinced he has buried deep in his past, and the more persistent she becomes, the more upset the writer becomes with her ‘work’. Around the same time, Juana (Rossy de Palma), Kika and Ramon’s lesbian maid, is visited by her brother, Paul Bazzo (Santiago Lajustica), a porn star with a long record, who has escaped from jail and is now sought by the police. Juana agrees to help Paul by letting him steal a few video cameras from the apartment, but decides to explain their disappearance with a fictional robbery and instructs him to tie her up before he leaves. The porn star agrees that her plan is brilliant, but when he discovers Kika sleeping in the bedroom immediately changes his mind. Then all hell breaks loose, and amidst the chaos Ramon makes a shocking discovery.

Almodovar is in top form here and there is simply an endless supply of brilliant surprises. There are multiple carefully scripted pieces that fit into a big and colorful story that actually becomes even bigger as the film moves towards the inevitable resolution. Then there is the constant overlapping of all sorts of different genre elements that keep the film stuck somewhere between being an outrageous comedy, a wacky thriller, and a very unconventional piece of satire.

The title creates the impression that Kika would be the star of the film, but there are actually no secondary characters. Everyone is given a chance to shine and after that the film never loses interest in the choices that these people make even if occasionally it may seem like perhaps there is too much happening at the same time. Like a brilliant conductor, however, Almodovar always maintains full control of the action.

The rich and wild colors on display are hardly surprising for an Almodovar film. However, the various costumes Abril’s character wears place it in an entire different category. It is absolutely superb work from the legendary French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.

*In the United States Kika initially earned an NC-17 rating -- apparently because of the notorious lovemaking sequence -- but it was actually very quickly released unrated. The version of the film that is included on this British Blu-ray release is fully uncut.

Kika Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pedro Almodóvar's Kika arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The film was recently remastered in 2K and looks simply astonishing in high-definition. Not only are depth and clarity drastically improved, but colors are now as lush and vibrant as they should be. If you are viewing on a large screen, you will be pleased to know that density and fluidity are also outstanding, so the film really does have the type of organic appearance that properly done remasters and restorations should deliver. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are absolutely no age-related imperfections to report. Fantastic presentation. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Kika Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Clearly, the audio has been fully remastered because depth, clarity, and balance are terrific. To be honest, there is nothing that one could potentially be unhappy with. There are no pops, cracks, hiss, or digital anomalies to report.

Kika Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Kika. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min).

• Introduction by Jose Arroyo - film historian Jose Arroyo introduces Kika and quickly explains why it is one of the more unusual films that Pedro Almodovar directed. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080i).

• Around Kika - in this new featurette, actors Victoria Abril, Rossy de Palma, and Anabel Alonso recall their involvement with Kika and discuss Pedro Almodovar's directing methods. In Spanish and French, with optional English subtitles. (14 min).

• Pedro Almodovar - in this archival interview, director Pedro Almodovar quickly explains what inspired him to shoot Kika and discusses some of its unique themes. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (5 min).

• Cast and Crew Interviews - presented here is a collection of archival interviews with actors Verónica Forqué and Peter Coyote in which they discusses their acting styles and Pedro Almodovar's working methods. In Spanish and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (5 min).

• The Characters - in this archival video piece, dierctor Pedro Almodovar, Verónica Forqué Peter Coyote, Victoria Abril, Àlex Casanovas, and Rossy de Palma Rossy de Palma discuss the characters they play in Kika and their interactions with Pedro Almodovar during the shooting of the film. In Spanish and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (16 min).

• The Music - in this archival interview, director Pedro Almodovar discusses the use of music throughout Kika. Also included are clips from an interview with the legendary Latin American singer Chavela Vargas. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (12 min).

Kika Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pedro Almodovar's Kika overflows with interesting ideas and pure wit, and has a seemingly endless supply of brilliant surprises that keep on coming literally until moments before the final credits roll. It is the type of film that quite simply cannot be spoiled. This very recent Blu-ray release from StudioCanal is sourced from a top-notch 2K remaster that is guaranteed to remain the definitive presentation of the film on the home video market. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.