Strange Way of Life, the new short film by Pedro Almodóvar that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year, represents an exciting challenge for the director, as it is his second work in a language other than Spanish and his first Excursion into Another Language features a setting inspired by the westerns of old Hollywood. With this work, the director continues to explore recurring themes in his filmography, such as complex love relationships, the past and betrayal.
The short film, just 31 minutes long, is considered Almodóvar’s “answer” to the film Brokeback Mountain, a project he rejected more than 15 years ago and which was ultimately directed by Ang Lee. His reason for rejection was clear: although it was a homosexual love story, it lacked the sexual element that the filmmaker felt was essential to telling the main romance. With “Extraña forma de vida” the Spanish director dares to create his own story, expressing his vision more authentically and true to his style.
The work introduces the sheriff of a small town in the middle of the desert (Hawke), who receives news that Silva, a friend from his youth (Pascal), has returned to town without any explanation. It later turns out that the two men have different interests in connection with a criminal case in which a young man murdered a woman. As they navigate the conflict, both remember the passionate romance they had in the past. Silva seems more interested in remembering it, but Jake definitely prefers to leave his story behind him.
Almodóvar spoke at length with EL PAÍS about choosing Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal for the lead roles. The director described the characters of Sheriff Jake and Silva in his script as an absolute portrait of these two talented actors. He also expressed his joy about his participation as he needed two actors who were also completely opposite physically and represented two different cultures. In his own words: “One is a cold, hermetic Anglo-Saxon, the other is the opposite: warm-hearted, stubborn… not afraid to speak about his desires.” For the director, Pascal and Hawke were the perfect choice: “They are perfect for the roles,” and of their work on screen, he says, “They’re both great.”
The director of classics like “All About My Mother” and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” was also excited about the opportunity this project gave Pedro Pascal to showcase his versatility as an actor. He recognized that most of Pascal’s successes came from interpretations of epic roles (as seen in the HBO series Game of Thrones and The Last of Us, which lacked the tenderness this new character required). Almodóvar felt that this film would allow Pascal to show his acting range in a different way.
As for Ethan Hawke, Almodóvar admitted that the actor exceeded his expectations. Although he noticed differences in the way Hollywood and Spanish actors worked, they adapted to work together in the best possible way. The Oscar-nominated director of his film “Parallel Mothers” mentioned that he made them rehearse more than they were used to and both actors showed surprising progress in rehearsals on camera. The experience of working with them was, in the director’s words, “fantastic.”
The short film – currently playing in cinemas – is a worthy addition to Almodóvar’s filmography and demonstrates his interest in exploring different styles of storytelling. Even if the western scenario sometimes feels implausible and the tension between the actors could increase with a longer duration, in 30 minutes it tells a solid story with a very clear message that reminds us of the director’s constant mission: to give us different ” to show “weird” films. Ways of Life” and make us feel the same emotions as their protagonists.
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