IMDb plot summary: An aging film director suffering from chronic illness and writer's block reflects on his life.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Nora Navas.
Antonio Banderas is truly stunning in this role, embodying this aged, exhausted man so perfectly I kept forgetting he was acting at all. He brings a mournful gravitas to the role that serves it beautifully. As with many Almodovar films, I find myself engaged with each individual scene but can't quite make it coalesce into the full story I want it to. These are great individual scenes, though, each one rich with layers of subtext. But as is so often the case with his films, I can't quite track the narrative arc of his central character. What is he searching for? What is the turning point for him? How does he view the world or himself differently at the end as opposed to the beginning? I can see a vague pattern of growth but I wish I were able to get a stronger grasp on this character's journey. Still worth the watch for Banderas' incredible performance.
How it entered my Flikchart:
Pain and Glory > Christine
Pain and Glory < Chronicle
Pain and Glory > The Hidden Fortress
Pain and Glory > Native Son
Pain and Glory < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Pain and Glory > Kind Hearts and Coronets
Pain and Glory > A Nightmare on Elm Street
Pain and Glory < Logan's Run
Pain and Glory < High Strung
Pain and Glory < Nick of Time
Pain and Glory < Marjorie Prime
Pain and Glory > Smiles of a Summer Night
Final spot: #951 out of 3295, or 71%.
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