The latest film from queer auteur Pedro Almodovar, Spain’s most influential award-winning filmmaker, sees him reunited with actor Antonio Banderas yet again, but also a very welcome return to a homoerotic theme that were so prevalent in his early work.
This is the story of a successful but tormented filmmaker Salvador Mallo (played by Banderas) whose inspiration and drive has been replaced by such constricting physical pain as his body seems to be shutting down. Depressed and isolated from the world, he does however for some inexplicable reason decide to accept a prestigious retrospective of his work which will include his most famous film made some 30 years ago.
When ‘Sabor’ the film was first released Salvador all but disowned it and had a major fallout with Alberto (Asier Etxeandia) his star actor who was high on heroin throughout the whole shoot. Now the Cinematheque has asked that he and the actor do a Q & A after the screening, both men reluctantly to put aside the past for once at least for the occasion. The main almost insurmountable problem is that both men have their own demons to deal with, and whilst Alberto decides that his best option would be to wean himself of his drug addiction, Salvador decides to now start taking the heroin that he despised so long.
Almodovar uses a series of flashbacks of Salvador’s childhood as his mother (Penelope Cruz) is determined that the family’s sheer poverty will in no way restrict the brilliant future she is determined he will have . She not only encourages the start if his obvious artistic talent but also unknowingly stirs the first inkling of his sexuality.
For Salvador to move forward he has to deal with his troubled past and get some closure on it, and when Alberto discovers he has written this all out so eloquently, he persuades Salvador to allow him to have the piece to create a one-man theatrical show about addiction.
Surprisingly (or not) the success of the play serves both men well and enables them to finally see a future ahead. It also provides Banderas with the best scene when his brilliantly fine nuanced performance is at its very best.
There is never any second guessing how it all will finish : this is after all an Almodovar film and has you completely intrigued to the very end ….especially in this case. Whether the character of Salvador the filmmaker is actually based in Almodovar himself is never really clear (or money is on the fact that it is) but there is as usual a real authenticity to the whole film, that will be soon regarded as one of his best.
