Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1988

Pepa and Iván are talented voice actors working in the dubbing industry, recently lending their voices to the classic film Johnny Guitar, featuring Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden. However, Pepa’s world is turned upside down when Iván unexpectedly leaves her, plunging her into despair. After a late start caused by her emotional turmoil, Pepa misses an important recording session with Iván, who leaves her a voicemail urging her to pack his belongings for pickup.

Upon returning home, Pepa is inundated with frantic messages from her friend, Candela. Frustrated by the chaos, she violently disconnects her phone, throwing it onto her terrace. In a desperate attempt to entice Iván back, she prepares gazpacho laced with sleeping pills, hoping to catch his attention during his anticipated visit. Just as she is about to explain her troubles to Candela, Carlos shows up with his snobbish fiancée, Marisa, who coincidentally is there to inspect Pepa’s penthouse as part of their apartment hunt.

As the day unfolds, Pepa learns that Carlos is Iván’s son from his previous marriage to Lucía, which complicates matters further. While Pepa mourns her relationship, Marisa unwittingly consumes the drugged gazpacho, falling asleep for hours. Meanwhile, Candela, feeling ignored and despondent, makes a suicide attempt but is saved just in time. She reveals her own chaotic story—having unintentionally become involved with a Shiite man who has ties to a terrorist cell planning to hijack a flight that evening.

In the midst of this turmoil, Pepa seeks legal advice from Paulina, the lawyer handling Iván’s divorce, only to be met with her peculiar behavior and cryptic hints about her connection to Iván. Discovering the hijacking plot, Carlos attempts to call the police to intervene while juggling the chaotic situation with Marisa still asleep and Candela in distress.

As tensions rise, Iván’s arrival takes Pepa by surprise, leading to her dramatic disposal of his belongings in frustration. With further chaos involving the police, who are drawn to the scene after Carlos tries to alert them, Pepa finds herself in a whirlwind of emotions, culminating in Lucía confronting her about Iván.

In a climactic encounter at the airport, Lucía aims a gun at Iván and Paulina, intending to sabotage their escape. Pepa, realizing the impending danger, takes action. Yet, as the dust settles, she chooses to leave Iván behind and returns home to confront her reality. In a moment of peace amid the confusion, she finally shares her life-altering secret with Marisa: she is pregnant, a revelation that brings a new layer to her tumultuous experience.