[Almodovar’s] returns to the mordant but sympathetic comedy of his early, best work. Though the new film is not as antic as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," it is funny and free of the nasty undertone that has made him seem tired and tiresome lately.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Pedro Almodovar's Spanish drama is his most involving work since the comedy "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," but its mood of ironic melancholy doesn't hold up enough to make the picture a full success.
San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann
It's a witty, intelligent scramble, and it's beautifully mounted.
Almodóvar lets rip with a story of great emotional intensity, while retaining his signature stunning visual style and a central performance quite unlike anything previously seen in his work. A potent and strikingly well-delivered combination.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
It's bland as often as it is affecting, and presents little that's new or original.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Pedro Almodovar's 1995 comic melodrama seems in many ways his most mature work, in theme as well as execution.... Almodovar's control over the material and his affection for his characters never falter.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Though The Flower of My Secret is not as crazed as "Women on the Verge," the movie marks the return of Almodóvar's delicious humor and a departure from the nastier streak that this Spanish director has been on recently.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The Flower of My Secret is likely to be disappointing to Almodovar's admirers, and inexplicable to anyone else.