the audience applauded

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

What else do you need to know? Honestly, this isn't Almodovar's best work. In fact, it's pretty sloppy story-wise. But I enjoyed the heck out of it. Cristina Sanchez Pascual plays a heroin-addicted singer who hides out in a convent after her boyfriend overdoses. The nuns there are, shall we say, a little quirky in that they are mostly on drugs (heroin, cocaine, acid - but not pot; at one point a nun says "you know I don't do soft drugs"). Also, one's a lesbian and another writes lurid romance novels and together they have raised a pet tiger. They all have names like Sister Snake and Sister Rat, because the humiliation is sacred. There's really no compelling reason the nuns are on drugs. It's just kind of a shocking, humorous detail. I think Bunuel would have loved it, though the film itself isn't particularly blasphemous. It doesn't view the nuns or Catholicism cynically. It just exists in its own, weird Almodovar universe. The plot is not very strong, so the whole thing just kind of fizzles, but it's entertaining. Carmen Maura plays one of the nuns, but she's not an extremely important character. On the Region 1 DVD, though, she graces the cover.

I am an Almodovar fan, but even I did not fully appreciate this film. It was like Sister Act without all the singing.When a prostitute has to escape after her lover dies from an overdose she provided to him, she naturally goes to this cloister. Why not? She fits right in with dope users, heroin addicts, obsessive-compulsives, and cheap fiction writers.Only, I remember laughing during Sister Act. There just wasn't that much that was funny here, and there was only one musical number. There wasn't even a sex scene! It was strange, and only recommended to those who really appreciate Almodovar and want to see all his films.

It's not very often that you can go back this far in a director's career and find a film this good.It's sure as hell not sentimental; it's a black comedy - you've got parody, satire and a dark-humour rolled into one.There already signs of Almodóvar's skill at film-making, already touches of Almodóvar's trademark whit and humour. It starts out with a girl at a crossroads in her life: on the one hand, a drug fuelled crazy future… the other, the stability of a convent. Or is that the other way round? For those familiar with Almodóvar's films, there are some of the reoccurring themes you'd expect to find, amongst others: prostitution, nuns, drugs, and dealers. More specifically, Dark Habits seems to deal with (to me anyway) a novelist (Almodóvar's film's often touch on creativity/ those involved), the idea of what is good, and along a similar vain, our abilities to turn a new leaf.Obviously being in subtitles is going to exclude this for some, but others are whole-heartedly recommended; even if it isn't the best Almodóvar film, I've found it the most enjoyable so far. (I haven't heard a quote better than "I'm Sister Rat of the Sewers. I was keen to meet you" recently.)Oh, and look out for the tiger ;-)

Maybe you have to speak Spanish to understand the lines of this crazy nuns. Almodovar's fans will love this movie, it's very Almodovar. the end is kind of strange but like someone said "is more important the trip than to get there". The nuns of Dark Habits use drugs, write lurid pulp novels, design high-fashion habits, and keep a tiger in their courtyard. Yolanda (Cristina Sanchez Pascual) gets caught up in the head nun's scheme to regain the patronage of a wealthy noblewoman,the end is kind of strange but like someone said "ïs more important the trip than to get there".it offers its own charms and comic delights I give a 7 out of 10 but I really enjoy it.