Estranha Forma de Vida

'Strange way of life' is an English-speaking short film directed by one of the most prominent Spanish directors ever... who does not speak English. How (and why) this amateur piece of work with such bad writing, astoundingly dumb dialogues and even mediocre cinematography got produced and released theatrically is beyond me.

The story it's, most of the time, the same nonsensical exposition over and over. It hopes to trick the audience into believing there's a deep conflict, a sad story of tormented lovers and forbidden love, but there's none. The chemistry is just not there. The clumsy flashback scene is utterly ludicrous.

This film is something I would expect from a pretentious student at film school, a self-proclaimed artist who tries to write something deep just to show how smart they are, but fails because they don't know anything about it. However, it's not. It's a film by Pedro Almodóvar. Not worth the time, much less the cost of a full-length movie ticket.

Several hundred people turned up at this one-night-only cinema screening and very, very few of us appreciated that is was only going to be half an hour long!! "Silva" (Pedro Pascal) rides half way across the desert to meet up with his old pal "Jake" (Ethan Hawke) who is the local sheriff. It's pretty clear from the get-go that there is a degree of personal baggage between the pair and that the true purpose of the visit is more than to relight old candles and have a good old reminisce... It's OK, this - nothing more. A testament to the drawing power of Almodóvar and Ethan Hawke to watch what is essentially a non-story that tells a little by way of flashback but for the most part just shows us a glimpse of something not especially interesting or unique. Looks good enough but I left a little disappointed and certainly underwhelmed.

At the start of this short film the lip-synced actor Manu Ríos (who moves middlingly the lips silently in synchronization with the pre-recorded soundtrack) performs a song and actually sung by Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso, the title is inspired by this ballad sung at the beginning. After many years Silva (Pedro Pascal) rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke). They celebrate the meeting, but the next morning Jake tells him that reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their friendship. Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal play a sheriff and a cowboy who meet 25 twenty-five years years after having lived a few days full of desire and sensuality. However, the reason for this meeting is not only to relive the past, as Pascal has a secret agenda.

This is the second short film in English (after The Human Voice starred by Tilda Swinton) directed by Pedro Almodovar. This movie is inspired by the Portuguese poem song by Amália Rodrigues called "Strange Way of Life¨or "Estranha forma de vida", released in 1959. A disruptive tribute to the spaghetti Western with overtones of melodrama where Almodóvar explores the sexuality of two cowboys, middle-aged men, who have lived a life far behind their own desires, as director Pedro himself explains. It has a pleasant soundtrack by Alberto Iglesias, ordinary composer of Almodovar films. As well as colorful cinematography by José Luis Alcaine who also worked a lot with Almodóvar. And the Costume Designs are signed by Saint Laurent and Anthony Vaccarello. Being shot on location in Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Poblado Western 'Sergio Leone', Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, and Mesa de Ocaña, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha.

This ¨Strange Way of Life¨ is a strange mix between "Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain" (2005) and Spaghetti Western sub-genre , and only the second English-language feature by Pedro Almodóvar, the first being La voz humana (2020). This was filmed in the Tabernas desert, the place where Sergio Leone set his most legendary Spaghetti Westerns, such as: ¨Fistful of dollars", "For a fistful of dollars more", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Once upon a time in the West¨. Being a project produced by Pedro Almodovar himself y his brother Agustin Almodovar with their production company El Deseo and the first film financed by Saint Laurent Productions, a production company from the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house and the head designer, Anthony Vaccarello, also served as an associate producer and gowns designer on the film. In 2023 Cannes Film Festival "Strange Way of Life" (2023) was nominated Queer Palm - Short Film.

It's literally a short film. Only half an hour and the ending leaves you perplexed and wondering what is it the director wanted to say or is it just a window into the hidden love and lust of cowboys for each other in times past. The acting leaves alot to be desired and the plot I found to be overly simplistic. There are some scenes of passion especially the younger actors who in flashbacks of both the sheriff and this ex lover share their love and passion for each other in a wine drinking splashing rolling moment in the movie. Plus a very short sequence of the older ones in bed together after they have dinner. This short film reminded me of back mountain and thinking why this one too wasn't made into something on par in depth and sophistication with that. In one word it was disappointing.

Even the best of the best fails on their work occasionally, and Almodovar is not the exception, this short film, along The human voice may be festival-material, those shouldn't have come into commercial exhibition.

Strange way of life looks like a spaghetti western from the 50s, there are even a few clothing flaws, (like plastic buttoned shirts) that break its weak western-like atmosphere.

The human voice, although Tilda Swinton is a great actress, this one-voice performance is exhausting to watch, even for for just 30 minutes.

Just two short films with 70 minutes in total, spare your ticket, your time and your gasoline.