Pain and Glory Review - A Masterpiece You Might Not Have Heard Of

Almodovar (middle) with his two stars

Truth being told, I’d never properly dived into foreign movies before deciding to study film at university, where I was exposed to Kurosawa, Truffaut and Fellini, and quietly fell in love with a whole new branch of undiscovered cinema. Yet, the oeuvre of acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar had always escaped me for one reason or another and I decided that his 21st feature film, Pain and Glory, would be my entrance into his rich filmography.

Pain and Glory is quasi-autobiographical film about a once-revered, veteran film director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) whose ailments, both mental and physical, have left him in stasis; yearning to relive the past glory of his career and personal life, and as Mallo burrows further into the core of what’s causing this creative block, old wounds slowly start to reopen. The film opens with Mallo being asked to attend a 30-year anniversary screening of his now cult-classic film Sabor and to reconnect with the film’s drug-addled star Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia) who Mallo hasn’t spoken to since the film’s release. The uneasy encounter between the two egos dissipates when Crespo introduces his old friend to Heroin, which Mallo uses to numb the myriad maladies that constantly plague him. Throughout these instances, Almodóvar flits back to Salvador’s past, exploring the relationship between his childhood self and his mother, the village he grew up in and his autodidactic upbringing. Additionally, these moments of reconciliation begin to bleed into Salvador’s present life, reconnecting with Alberto, his former lover Federico and the last moments with his mother.

Alberto (Etxeandia) and Salvador (Banderas)

It should be noted that Pain and Glory doesn’t just wallow in the self-pity of Almodóvar’s alter-ego, instead the film transcends mere introspective pondering and becomes an honest, reflective exploration of how emotional turmoil can leave long-lasting scars. Pain and Glory seemingly reflects Almodóvar's own musings on the relationship between the past and how it affects one's future; it's earnest, mesmirisingly bold at times with a wicked sense of humour that undercuts some of the more serious issues the film decides to explore.

Perhaps most impressively, these instances of bombast are dwarfed by deft moments of subtlety where Banderas’ acting truly shines through; there’s a visible pain and earnest wistfulness that seemingly radiates from Salvador and it quickly became clear why Banderas took home the Best Actor Award at Cannes. He’s able to portray a man who’s struggling to wind down from a life full of vivacious creativity and is now left practically isolated and immobile, at least in his mind.

Salvador’s isolation is captured strikingly by Almodóvar’s cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine who paints the film’s protagonist against a stunning backdrop of bold, breath-taking colour when in present day. Most exemplified by Salvador’s apartment, “like a museum” with beautiful, baroque art adorning the walls that would engulf him if not for bright splashes of colour cutting through the mundanity of Salvador’s self-imposed isolation, there is a residing aura of hope, albeit in the background. Yet, when visiting Salvador’s past, Alcaine and his camera have room to breathe and the whitewashed walls of Mallo’s childhood home provide a knowing contrast between his past and his present. Almodóvar’s command of his mise-en-scene is nothing short of exceptional.

Mercedes (Nora Navas) giving council to Salvador

As an introduction to the work of Almodóvar Pain and Glory absolutely knocked me away. I’m normally all-in on films that ponder over the love of filmmaking, its challenges and its rewards being dissected on screen and while Pain and Glory does this in some part. It gets truly to the heart of a filmmaker like I’ve only ever witnessed the aforementioned Fellini do in his seminal work 8 ½. There is an uncompromising honesty at the heart of this gem of Spanish cinema and I think I’m going to watch it again, and then explore the back catalogue of a filmmaker we should all admire.

Popcorns - 81

Special thanks to Lucy and the guys at FACT Liverpool, who were so kind as to reserve a ticket for me to catch an early screening of this stellar movie. Easily the best place to catch films like Pain and Glory and while you're at it, why not check out their season of Almodóvar films! I know I will...