* AdaptationDisplacement: How many people know the book the movie is based on?
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The soundtrack composed by Alberto Iglesias is a triumph, especially the main theme.
* {{Narm}}:
** Norma's looks of wide-eyed confusion when [[spoiler:Vicente paws at her while they're still both fully dressed and standing up in the garden]] are cartoony to the point of of hilarity.
** At a pivotal point, when [[spoiler:Fulgencio demands to know what Robert did to Vicente]], Vera states her name as "Vera. Vera Cruz." [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracruz,_Veracruz Mexican audiences found this absolutely hilarious]] and it destroyed the tension of the scene.
** There were reports of other crowds reacting with laughter and treating the film like a surrealist comedy rather than drama or horror, even at festivals, much to Creator/PedroAlmodovar's surprise.
* ParanoiaFuel: You'll surely be worried about [[spoiler: what could a plastic surgeon do to you while you're under anesthesia.]]
* TearJerker: Vicente discovering yoga. Specifically, the TV instructor's assurance that "There's a place where you can take refuge. A place inside you...a place to which no one else has access. A place that no one can destroy." Also the scene where [[spoiler:he comes across a picture of himself before his kidnapping, kisses it, and runs his fingers down it.]]
* TheWoobie:
** From the death of her mother to her sexual assault [[spoiler: even if in-universe it's implied he wasn't intending to assault her but that she simply began to have a freakout and he reacted too forcefully in confusion due to being high]] at Vicente's hands to her own suicide, Norma's life is one traumatic event after another.
** Vicente's not a stellar person by any means, but his [[spoiler:forced sex reassignment is so horrifying to watch]] that you just want to comfort him. Doesn't help that he's all wide eyes and haunted gazes.
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