Pain and Glory, directed and written by Pedro Almodovar, has just been selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
It stars some of Almodovar’s regular and reliable actors: Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Penélope Cruz, Julieta Serrano and Leonardo Sbaraglia.
The self-reflexive narrative consists of a series of reencounters of Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a film director who is now in decline.
Some of these reencounters are contemporary, while others are set in the past and remembered.
Among the episodes are his childhood in the 1960s, when he emigrated together with his family to Paterna in search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in Madrid in the 1980s, the pain of the breakup of this relationship, writing as a therapy to forget, the discovery of cinema, dealing with fame and the issue of sustained career.
Released in Spain on March 22, 2019 by Sony Pictures, Pain and Glory was received with positive reviews.
Main Cast
Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo
Penélope Cruz as Jacinta
Raúl Arévalo as Padre
Leonardo Sbaraglia as Federico
Asier Etxeandia as Alberto Crespo