I had quite the time getting to see Pain and Glory on Sunday. I had purchased a ticket in advance through my AMC app. When I arrived on Sunday, I was surprised to see that every show was sold out. A Spanish language arthouse flick was sold out for the entire day? That was a little unusual. Then I walked over to the proper screening room, walked in, and found it was partway through the new Terminator. I double checked the sign outside, then want to the help desk. I was told there that Pain and Glory was being screened in a different room, a larger one. They then asked me if I was a certain seat number (I was) and gave me a new seat number in the larger screening room. And when I went there, I was alone and the screen had nothing on it. After a few minutes, two couples came in. One of the couples sat near me and I found out the reason for the room change was the larger room had no heat for the recent local cold snap. So, the Terminator audience was moved to the smaller, heated screening room and the rest of the Pain and Glory shows were declared sold out. Only the handful of people like me who ordered in advance would get to see the show.
Now, there were no trailers or pre-show advertising, so the movie started probably about when the trailers would end. And then there was a new problem in that the subtitles were cut off the bottom of the screen. Since I don’t really speak Spanish, that was another problem. Fortunately, someone said something, the screen was adjusted, the movie started over, and the theater staff gave me a coupon for a free popcorn, something I probably won’t use because I don’t like the way that stuff gets stuck in my teeth.
So, with all that out of the way, how was the movie?
Antonio Banderas stars as Salvador Mallo, a stand-in for the fllm’s writer/director Pedro Almodovar. Mallo seems to be undergoing the cinematic equivalent of writer’s block. He hasn’t made a new film in a long time. Mostly, he feels old with frequent pains throughout his body. One of his best known films is having a revival, promoting Mallo to reconcile with the lead actor he hasn’t spoken to since production wrapped. Every so often, he flashes back to his childhood living in a literal cave, particularly to time spent with his mother (Penelope Cruz).
So, what do make of a quiet movie like this with barely any plot? It might help if I had seen other movies from Almodovar, but this was my first. And, quite frankly, this was a good movie. Perhaps it could be best thought of as Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man. Mallo is reflecting on his life up until that point. He hurts all over, uses all kinds of drugs with his doctor’s approval, and then on the spur of the moment decides to try heroin. Something is haunting Mallo, something even he isn’t really aware of.
This mostly puts the man in a somewhat reconciling mood. He can’t make amends with everyone from his past, but the ones he can, he may. This is the sort of movie where when we only learn towards the end of the movie what is bothering Mallo, and it makes for a sweet ending. Mallo’s physical health is deliberately tied to his emotional and creative health, so anything that brings back his creativity seems to also be helping him on multiple levels.
Ultimately, Almodovar made a movie about the creative process in creative people, reconciling with the past, and keeping up with the world. It’s a sweet movie. You know, once I could read the subtitles.
Grade: A
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