In the spirit of my previous blog post, today I’m sharing my thoughts on Pedro Almodóvar’s new film, “Dolor y Gloria” (“Pain and Glory”). Antonio Banderas is nominated for an Oscar for his role as Salvador Mallo, an aging director in the process of reflecting back upon his life. Asier Etxeandia plays an actor with whom Banderas’ character worked with in the past, and they’re reconnecting over a new project; Penélope Cruz plays the main character’s mother in flashbacks of his youth.
What I most enjoyed about this movie was the classic Almodóvar imagery: bright, intense colors…a sense of place in scenes of a Madrid apartment and a small town in southern Spain. I also loved the moment, about halfway through the movie, when little snippets of this man’s life story begin to come together—and you understand why some seemingly everyday occurrences launch this man into vivid memories.
I hope you enjoy the movie if you see it, and we’ll see what happens on Oscars night!
Photos courtesy of slugmag.com and quartetrecords.com.
Alison Trujillo Translations 