Matador

In Madrid, a matador named Diego Montes is forced to give up the bullring after a serious goring. He discovers that his urge to kill has not faded, only shifted: he turns his attention to women, and the moment of lovemaking becomes the moment of death. He meets María, a criminal lawyer drawn to the same lethal impulse, and the two begin a relationship built on shared violence. Nearby, a shy young man named Ángel, dominated by a deeply religious mother and training under Diego, tries to prove his manhood and ends up confessing to murders he did not commit.

The film was directed by Pedro Almodóvar, who wrote the screenplay with Jesús Ferrero. It is the first of the 22 films he has directed in chronological order, followed by Law of Desire in 1987. Assumpta Serna plays María and Antonio Banderas plays Ángel, with Nacho Martínez as Diego, Eva Cobo as Eva, Julieta Serrano as Berta and Chus Lampreave as Pilar; 34 cast members and 46 crew members are credited. Released in Spain in March 1986 and running 105 minutes, the film combines drama and thriller.

On IMDb it holds 6.9/10 from around 14,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.7/10 from roughly 305 votes. A critics' rating of 7.2/10 from 27 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores, though the three figures sit close together.