Dolor y gloria (Pain & Glory)
DOLOR Y GLORIA - Sony Pictures Classics
Pain and Glory follows Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a weathered filmmaker who no longer works due to suffering from a host of various ailments. As he grows older, the pain gets worse. Without his work, Salvador feels a sense of emptiness and he refuses to go to anything he is invited to, much to the dismay of his assistant Mercedes (Nora Navas). This changes when a cinematheque in Madrid restores Sabor, a film Salvador has not revisited in thirty-two years.
The cinematheque asks Salvador and the film’s lead Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia) to present the film together, even though they have not spoken since the film’s premiere. Salvador starts using heroin to cope with his headaches and back pain, but the drug also forces him to remember his life: past friends, past lovers and past relationships. By revisiting his past, Salvador tries to save himself.
Pain and Glory is a semi-autobiographical look into the life of Pedro Almodóvar. The director masterfully weaves Salvador’s memories into his present-day life. The pacing is terrific and Salvador’s childhood moments greatly contrast his current life. The film is technically stunning with outstanding production design; there are vibrant reds in every scene, either in the wardrobe or set design, that fill the screen in vigorous beauty but a much assured explicit subtextual meaning.
Salvador is often seen wearing red — red turtlenecks, red blazers, red button-downs. The colour emphasises his pain as he confronts his past life and its richness does not take away from the emotion of the film. Banderas’s subtle performance as the ageing filmmaker is captivating. He is a quiet and reserved man, with half-smiles and heavy eyelids as he revisits his memories but the sadness is still there.
Banderas’s narration is also beautiful, especially during an exquisitely animated sequence as Salvador explains his schooling and his illnesses, utilised in a fairytale-esque manner with the audience falling down a rabbit hole of emotional density. The ending of Almodóvar’s film is immaculate as it beautifully ties together Salvador’s past and present with a hard-hitting but profoundly poignant elegance. Granted, Pain and Glory is melodramatic, but Almodóvar includes plenty of humour to break up the emotional intensity with beautiful pieces exercised to allow the film to breathe. It is one of the most personal and intimate films of the year; it entrances audiences and is one of Almodóvar’s best in a glowing and ever-evolving filmography from the Spanish icon.
Pain & Glory is released August 23rd and October 4th in the U.K. and U.S.A., respectively.