PAIN AND GLORY
DOLOR Y GLORIA
2019,
Sony Pictures Classics,
113 min,
Spain/France,
Dir: Pedro Almodóvar
There is no shortage of comparisons between Fellini’s 8 ½ and Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work, PAIN AND GLORY. Like Fellini, Almodóvar draws upon his own life to construct the story of a director in decline. As Salvador Mallo, Antonio Banderas is a man caught between past and present, reliving the experiences that have shaped him while he grapples with addiction and a state of creative stasis. Yet Almodóvar’s portrait of the artist in limbo is characterized by the particular blend of sexuality, nostalgia and familial attachment that the Spanish auteur has made his signature. A competitor for the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival - where Banderas received the Best Actor Award for his performance - PAIN AND GLORY is a confessional exploration of the toll that human relationships take and of the restorative power of creation.