Estranha Forma de Vida

I remember watching the trailers for "A Strange Way of Life" months ago and very much anticipating this movie. I tracked the release through Spain and other countries before it came around to the United States.

Though the movie is a short film, it was very interesting to watch, however not enough gay scenes to even portray being gay in the old west. I may watch it again, however my expectations have been lowered at this point.

My recommendation? Definitely watch it as it is a good movie! I'm even thinking of watching it again - which shows how good the movie stands on its own. For those who are sensitive to gay drama and themes, you have nothing to worry about with this movie. Gay is insinuated, but not completely played-out.

This was a promotional short by Saint Laurent, and that makes sense. It goes hand-in-hand with Almodovar's heightened, melodramatic style, so the fashionable cowboy cliches didn't mess with the verisimilitude of the story.

Unfortunately, the dialogue suffers from being absurdly expositional, and not in an intentionally comedic way. It's understandable at first, because it's a short, and you want to give it some slack for this, but then there's a flashback scene that goes on for 3 minutes longer than it needs to.

The acting by everyone besides Hawke and Pascal is very mid. Their characters had a really deep and interesting relationship that could have easily sustained a hundred minute flick, but with the time-constraints, that depth can't be explored well enough.

Could have been something genuinely great if this story was given the weight and space to breathe it deserves.

The ending is also rushed and just stops.

I am reviewing because there are so many negative reviews. Thought this was a beautiful glimpse into the universe of some beautifully portrayed characters. Both Ethan and Pedro did a great job. I loved their chemistry. Pedro especially was very moving in his role. This short film packed a heavy emotional punch for me and I would love to see it as a feature film. (as for the negative reviews, if you have to say you're not homophobic in your review, you probably are). As for the complaints about the use of the green jacket. I loved it, loved all the costuming. It made Pedro's character stand out, which I assume was the point.

Oh so very gay and well acted. I can absolutely see how this was Pedro Almodóvar seemingly long overdue version of Brokeback Mountain in a way, as referred to by both him and the fact that he wanted to direct Brokeback Mountain to begin with. Sadly I have still not yet watched that movie despite hearing nothing but fantastic things about it, and after watching this one I really don't think that Almodóvar would have had it in him to make something that widely well received.

I think this works best a short film, although at the same time I can't help but feel like it's far too short to really get much from it at all. What is there however is at the very least incredibly decent and has some really major highs, such as the spectacular acting from both leads (Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke), and what I consider to be a very good solid score that really elevated what was an otherwise mediocre time.

A story of two men who were lovers at one point 25 years ago in the past, meeting each other again after one of their sons commits a heinous crime in the others town. They immediately hit it off after not seeing each other for over two decades, and the little chemistry that is shown between the two with the very limited time we get with them is palpable and honestly very cute at times to say the least. But that doesn't really matter much when we barely get to spend any time with the two of them, so we barely get to explore their seemingly very detailed and interesting lives - which is what I think drags this down a great deal.

The weird thing is I don't believe this should be any longer either, I don't think it particularly works as well as it could've as a short film but at the same time I don't think even another thirty minutes of this would be all that appealing to me. It's a very conflicting thing as it clearly has some really good parts and is executed well by the actors themselves, but I cannot tell if it's the writing or the directing that makes it all feel just a tad lackluster.

Overall I liked it enough to consider it worth checking out, especially due to the fact it is only at a brisk thirty minute runtime. It's filled with two immensely talented actors being gay as hell and looking good doing it, which is at least enough of a reason for me to watch it. Nothing special if we're being honest, but it could for sure resonate with other people far more than it did with me. I slightly enjoyed what it was going for and I liked the execution of the majority of it, but it didn't really make a lasting impact on me. A perfectly serviceable short film that I think you should check out if you have Netflix as it just dropped on there.

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.