Pain and GloryAge brings reminiscence and regret. Pain and Glory by Pedro Almodóvar is a semi-autobiographical melodrama about an aging director named Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) who is fighting an existential war on two fronts. He is suffering from the aches and pains of age and is in a malaise brought on from a creative drought. After Salvador reunites with Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia)--an actor with whom he had a falling out over three decades ago--he starts abusing heroin and falls even deeper into a quagmire of depression. As Salvador's life begins to dissolve, he thinks back to his childhood in Paterna--where he was raised by his mother, Jacinta (Penélope Cruz)--with the bittersweet tang of fading nostalgia.
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Pain and Glory follows a tradition of films by filmmakers who appear to view themselves as approaching the closing of their illustrious careers. It is self-reflexive and contains very personal aspects of the filmmakers themselves, so that audiences familiar with both the filmmaker and their work will appreciate this extra dimension. The film is in good company, including many of the works of Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. The latter film is acknowledged courtesy of a movie poster on the wall of Salvador's close friend, Mercedes (Nora Navas). To fully appreciate this side of Pain and Glory--and for those not otherwise informed--a brief rundown of Pedro Almodóvar is helpful here. Almodóvar has been making films for decades in his native country of Spain, embracing melodrama instead of running from it, and are often the definition of transgressive. He is openly gay and the characters in his films often embody the primal recesses that lurk within the collective id of society. His films have challenged everything from good taste to the way films are rated for theatrical release with novel yet down-to-earth stories. (It is no exaggeration to say that Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! paved the way for the NC-17 rating.) In spite of his reputation as Spain's cinematic enfant terrible, Almodóvar's contributions to cinema have attracted some of the nation's most talented performers--like the perennially youthful Penélope Cruz--and launched the careers of actors like Antonio Banderas. It would be easy to compare Almodóvar to other filmmakers--ranging from Quentin Tarantino to Rainer Werner Fassbinder--but he is a prolific artist unto himself. Watching Pain and Glory with this knowledge makes it appear like a largely introspective work, although as they say, the places and names have been changed to protect the innocent.
It's been said that a true story isn't as much fun as one that only appears to be true, and Almodóvar capitalizes on this for his audience's benefit. Who can say just what--if anything--is similar between Almodóvar and his cinematic counterpart, Salvador, incriminating or otherwise. Certainly Almodóvar doesn't paint Salvador in a flattering light. At first blush, he appears kindly but clings to an old grudge over some perceived failing on Alberto's part. Salvador visits the cautious Alberto under the auspices of repairing the fracture and to invite him to a restoration of their mutual collaboration, a film called "Flavor". Alberto appears to be a relatively high-functioning heroin addict; when Salvador sees him prepare to "chase the dragon" from a sheet of aluminum foil and through a stubby straw, Salvador suddenly asks if he can join in. What appears to be an incomprehensible act of recklessness is later justified when it's learned that Salvador once had a lover named Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia), who was addicted to heroin while they were together--a detail that contributed to their breakup. Salvador doesn't share this directly with the audience of Pain and Glory; instead, it comes from a monologue which Salvador wrote in private then gifts to Alberto to perform on stage, albeit without anything directly identifying Salvador as the writer or character. This is Salvador's way of apologizing to Alberto after an embarrassing Q&A at the debut of his restored film--done remotely by cell phone because Salvador was too stoned and anxiety stricken to actually attend.
Throughout Salvador's mid-life crisis, there are numerous scenes depicting him as a child (Asier Flores) growing up in relative poverty. His father (Raúl Arévalo) buys him and his mother a home that is--as she puts it--"a cave". Despite being poor, Jacinta taught Salvador well, and he is capable of math and is literate. One day, Salvador is approached by a carpenter and painter named Eduardo (César Vicente) to write a letter for him. Jacinta hits on the idea that if Eduardo could instead do some work on their new home to make it seem less subterranean, that Salvador would instead teach him how to read, write, and do math for himself. This young Salvador seems knowledgeable beyond his years; yet earlier in Pain and Glory, he comments that his time in the seminary--where his mother sends him with the intent of furthering his education--left him ignorant instead, since they prized cultivating his singing voice over his other scholastic responsibilities. He describes that his education on geography came from touring abroad with his films, and that his knowledge of anatomy came from the various chronic pains that followed. In his older years, Salvador regrets having distanced himself from his (now older) mother (Julieta Serrano), and he blames himself for failing to be with her after her passing. What becomes true and what is exaggerated for dramatic effect is a key part of Pain and Glory. Almodóvar frequently toys with his audience's expectations--about how characters should behave, what is or isn't about "him", and even about what a movie is or is not. Yet as an artist, he has crafted something that says different things to different people. It is provocative and yet deeply human, capable of being interpreted from myriad points of view.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective melodrama that deals with drug addiction, broken hearts, and wistful nostalgia for days gone by. Because of pervading drug use and complex matters of the heart explored in Pain and Glory, the film is appropriate for adults who can sympathize with Salvador's moral profile without casting judgment, appreciating that each of us has had both moments of bliss and regret in our short times on this Earth.
It's been said that a true story isn't as much fun as one that only appears to be true, and Almodóvar capitalizes on this for his audience's benefit. Who can say just what--if anything--is similar between Almodóvar and his cinematic counterpart, Salvador, incriminating or otherwise. Certainly Almodóvar doesn't paint Salvador in a flattering light. At first blush, he appears kindly but clings to an old grudge over some perceived failing on Alberto's part. Salvador visits the cautious Alberto under the auspices of repairing the fracture and to invite him to a restoration of their mutual collaboration, a film called "Flavor". Alberto appears to be a relatively high-functioning heroin addict; when Salvador sees him prepare to "chase the dragon" from a sheet of aluminum foil and through a stubby straw, Salvador suddenly asks if he can join in. What appears to be an incomprehensible act of recklessness is later justified when it's learned that Salvador once had a lover named Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia), who was addicted to heroin while they were together--a detail that contributed to their breakup. Salvador doesn't share this directly with the audience of Pain and Glory; instead, it comes from a monologue which Salvador wrote in private then gifts to Alberto to perform on stage, albeit without anything directly identifying Salvador as the writer or character. This is Salvador's way of apologizing to Alberto after an embarrassing Q&A at the debut of his restored film--done remotely by cell phone because Salvador was too stoned and anxiety stricken to actually attend.
Throughout Salvador's mid-life crisis, there are numerous scenes depicting him as a child (Asier Flores) growing up in relative poverty. His father (Raúl Arévalo) buys him and his mother a home that is--as she puts it--"a cave". Despite being poor, Jacinta taught Salvador well, and he is capable of math and is literate. One day, Salvador is approached by a carpenter and painter named Eduardo (César Vicente) to write a letter for him. Jacinta hits on the idea that if Eduardo could instead do some work on their new home to make it seem less subterranean, that Salvador would instead teach him how to read, write, and do math for himself. This young Salvador seems knowledgeable beyond his years; yet earlier in Pain and Glory, he comments that his time in the seminary--where his mother sends him with the intent of furthering his education--left him ignorant instead, since they prized cultivating his singing voice over his other scholastic responsibilities. He describes that his education on geography came from touring abroad with his films, and that his knowledge of anatomy came from the various chronic pains that followed. In his older years, Salvador regrets having distanced himself from his (now older) mother (Julieta Serrano), and he blames himself for failing to be with her after her passing. What becomes true and what is exaggerated for dramatic effect is a key part of Pain and Glory. Almodóvar frequently toys with his audience's expectations--about how characters should behave, what is or isn't about "him", and even about what a movie is or is not. Yet as an artist, he has crafted something that says different things to different people. It is provocative and yet deeply human, capable of being interpreted from myriad points of view.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective melodrama that deals with drug addiction, broken hearts, and wistful nostalgia for days gone by. Because of pervading drug use and complex matters of the heart explored in Pain and Glory, the film is appropriate for adults who can sympathize with Salvador's moral profile without casting judgment, appreciating that each of us has had both moments of bliss and regret in our short times on this Earth.