Almodóvar shoots the “offbeat” spirit of the West with Cannes’ “strange way of life”.
“In no other Western movie do you see two men bound in bed,” he says. Pedro Almodovar when we talk about strange way of life. And this sentence is enough to sum up the conceptual idea on which his new short film is based, namely the first western from his movie Which debuted today at its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival: Take the lexicon of this exceptionally virile genre and use it to compose a melodrama gay Absolutely rapeda little bit along the lines of what Nicholas Ray did Johnny Guitar (1954); Take away the mythology Cowboys to their terrain, then, using strategies such as those of fado by Amalia Rodriguez whose version is interpreted by Caetano Veloso in Employment By ephebe at the beginning of his screenshots. The film shines with the fluidity with which this transition occurs.
The director confirmed during a discussion after the film’s release, “I wanted to make a Western that focused on the sexual desire shared by cowboys; we’re in 2023 and so far nothing like this has been done,” suggesting that you think it’s the same. Brokeback Mountain (2005) – a film he refused to direct, in which he found part of the inspiration in writing strange way of life– Technically not a western; to me dog power (2021), which undoubtedly belongs to the genre, talks about latent homosexuality but “in it neither desire between men is depicted nor they have sex.
Throughout 31 minutes, the film reflects on the reunion between two men after 25 years of maintaining a romantic relationship.. One of them is a cattle breeder (Pedro Pascal), who has made a long journey in search of the other, A.J Sherif (Ethan Hawke). It is clear from the outset that the farmer is determined to let himself be carried away by his instincts, and the Sheriff has become accustomed to suppressing them. It does not take long for it to become clear that the reason for their meeting is not exclusively romantic, as it is also about crime and a thirst for revenge., but by the time that happens, the Cowboys will have unleashed their bodily impulses. Almodóvar replaces that sex scene with an ellipsis. He explains: “I preferred to show their naked voices over their naked bodies.”. “What they say has more impact than any explicit sex scene can achieve.”
Throughout 31 minutes, the film reflects on the reunion between two men after 25 years of maintaining a romantic relationship.. One of them is a cattle breeder (Pedro Pascal), who has made a long journey in search of the other, A.J Sherif (Ethan Hawke). It is clear from the outset that the farmer is determined to let himself be carried away by his instincts, and the Sheriff has become accustomed to suppressing them. It does not take long for it to become clear that the reason for their meeting is not exclusively romantic, as it is also about crime and a thirst for revenge., but by the time that happens, the Cowboys will have unleashed their bodily impulses. Almodóvar replaces that sex scene with an ellipsis. He explains: “I preferred to show their naked voices over their naked bodies.”. “What they say has more impact than any explicit sex scene can achieve.”
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“I did not wish to be reproached for the fact that in Western films no one dresses like the characters in my film. And in case anyone considers the bright green jacket that Pascal wears in some of his scenes to be something unimaginable in the history of westernHe has an example to the contrary. “in Far horizons, by Anthony Mann James Stewart wore a green jacket. Good luck to anyone trying to find another.
when strange way of life Reached the stark end point, there is no escaping the feeling that events have developed somewhat hastilyand that it would be necessary to find out what will happen now with Sherif and educator. In fact, this is probably the only thing that could be put in the movie: The short form is short, and it probably should have been designed as a feature film. Today, in Cannes, Almodóvar did not rule out that he might end up becoming one.
