Rent Pain and Glory (2019)
3.6 of 5 from 515 ratings
1h 48min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) is a veteran film director, afflicted by multiple ailments, the worst of which is his inability to continue filming. His physical condition doesn't allow it and, if he can't film, his life has no meaning. His mixture of medications, along with the occasional flirtation with heroin, means that Salvador spends most of his days prostrate and forlorn. This drowsy state transports him back to reflect on his childhood in the 60's, when his family emigrated to Paterna, a village in Valencia, in search of prosperity, through to the appearance of his first desire and his first adult love in the Madrid of the 80's. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it, and in that need he may also find his salvation. - Actors:
- Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, César Vicente, Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz, Cecilia Roth, Susi Sánchez, Raúl Arévalo, Pedro Casablanc, Julián López, Eva Martín, Sara Sierra, Constancia Céspedes, Rosalía, Marisol Muriel, Paqui Horcajo, Alba Gómez
- Directors:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Producers:
- Agustín Almodóvar, Ricardo Marco Budé, Esther García, Ignacio Salazar-Simpson
- Writers:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Aka:
- Dolor y gloria
- Studio:
- Pathe Distribution
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- A History of Films about Film: Part 2, Acting Up: Top 10 Performances At Cannes, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top Films
- Countries:
- Spain
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 13/01/2020
- Run Time:
- 108 minutes
- Languages:
- Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Behind the Scenes
- Trailers
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Reviews (9) of Pain and Glory
Classic Almodovar - Pain and Glory review by CP Customer
This film was a joy for me, so interesting, with a story line that kept me glued to the film, and a cast that played their roles to perfection, with special mention of the young actor playing the lead as a boy, a potential star in the making. The nominations that film has garnered this award season are fully justified and this has to be one of the very best films of 2019!
5 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
underwhelming - Pain and Glory review by PD
Largely agree with TE's review. In the film there's a poster on a wall advertising Fellini’s 8 1/2, and this is one of those type of films which pretty much all directors of a certain age feel the need to make - that self-disclosing semi-autobiographical drama in which they look back on their youth, career, trials and tribulations & so on. It works to a degree - not least because of a superb, nuanced performance by Antonio Banderas as an ageing, gay, Madrid-based auteur; and there are some lovely touches, especially in the flashback scenes to his childhood and his relationship with his mother. But the film is a little self-indulgent, as these sort of films tend to be, and it tends to be much heavier on the 'pain' than the 'glory' (I find people snorting heroin impossible to watch, and there's an awful lot of this - agree with TE that 'Addiction' would have been a more apt title), although the last half hour certainly leaves us on much a much more uplifting note. Rather than having a plot as such, the film slips from one short story to the next, and whilst I've not a problem with this at all in principle, I must admit I was left a little underwhelmed by it all somehow. This leads me to suspect that unless you're die-hard fan of Almodóvar, you'll most likely see it as not one of his best.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Almost too personal - Pain and Glory review by TE
A good film, but not up with Almodovar's best, possibly because it seems to be overtly autobiographical and thus misses out on the universal relevance that his best work has.
As ever, there is deep satisfaction in the composition of every frame, with beautifully balanced colours and lighting.
Perhaps a better title would have been "Addiction" (the title of a monologue within the film). The story is full of addictions: to heroin, to memories, to desire and to pain.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Pain and Glory (aka Dolor y gloria) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
Within the non-linear path of Pain and Glory is a subtle sweetness to the strangeness of age. Antonio Banderas absolutely melts into the role of an aged director who hasn’t come to terms with himself or his past. By the end of the film, he won’t have fully come to a realization and newfound love of his life but more of an understanding. A surreal sensation that life has a certain allure with age and our fears start to simmer to a point we hope we can step out of our element.
Banderas plays director Salvador Mallo. He has come a long way from being a poor kid growing up in a village of illiterate builders. Even as a child, he was found to be so smart that he could even teach reading and writing to adults. Soon, he would be chosen to attend a school where he would finely tune his talents. Salvador grows up to become a director but we won’t see that successful and chaotic part of his life.
Instead, we catch up with him in his old age where many years have passed since the film that defined him. Quieter and his health slowly passing, Salvador finds his mind lingering to the past. His film has been restored and will soon be having a public screening for the most influential films of Madrid. Rewatching the film has reignited a certain spark within him. It’s not enough to make him eager to hop right back into directing but intrigued enough he may start writing. He also reconnects with his actor pal who he hasn’t spoken to in years. A questioning comes up for how much they need each other and how much Salvador needs him for the drugs to tame his pain.
There’s a lot of Salvador’s mind as his blank expression reveals little more than an aged face of a white beard. He informs us about his medical issues he’s developed over time in a mostly analytical mindset, complete with a computer-like synth of his brain buzzing with the internal workings. We hear this music during any scene where Salvador seems more within his mind than anything else, thinking more about his next move than anything else. Simpler scenes of contemplation feature a curious melody of pondering how wonderful life can be with all its ups and downs. It’s almost as though we can feel a smile forming behind his stoic face.
There is, however, some genuine happiness to Salvator’s tale. After publishing a one-man show, an old friend comes to visit him. They had been romantically involved but this man has moved on and had children. But, wait, he’s divorced. Could a new romance form? Maybe but the real question is whether or not Salvador is willing to pursue another relationship. Everywhere around him he notices marriages failing and friendships crumbling. The human spirit seems to die with age, the same way Salvador refuses to fully acknowledge his illness and condition, covering it up with drugs. He’d rather live within the joy of cinema, where writing enraptures him like no other pleasure. Even if that the nostalgic love of film comes with the odor of urine from dirty theaters. Things change with age and nostalgia is weird like that.
Pain and Glory is such a personal experience of a picture that invites us to crawl within Salvator’s peculiar mind and take in his troubles. The humanizing element is strong by portraying him as a man with many problems, refusing to leave his place at times. There’s a bittersweet ending where he happens upon some writing from a student he had decades ago. He could pursue the clues to find this man but he doesn’t, remarking that it’s only important that it somehow found its way back to him. The closure comes for us in different ways and it's up to us decide how we deal with it. Salvador deals with it in a way that may not seem like rise for the loner director but certainly a relatable and human response.