‘Pain and Glory’ NYFF review — One of Almodóvar’s best

In Pain and Glory, a filmmaker reckons with his past when a screening of one of his films requires him to contact an actor he feuded with.

One-sentence review: Pain and Glory is a colorful, funny and profound film where Pedro Almodóvar reckons with his past and career — featuring a career-best performance by Antonio Banderas.

Details: ? Pedro Almodóvar // ?? Spain // ⏳ 113 minutes

The cast: Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, Penélope Cruz

Where to watch Pain and Glory: In theaters October 4th.

As Pain and Glory approached its final moments, I realized that I was entertained and delighted by the witty humor and charmed by Antonio Banderas' career-best performance. However, I felt like something was missing. Then, the final shot happened and I — and the rest of the crowded press screening — broke into applause. I think it's what director Pedro Almodóvar is best at. He hides his intentions until unleashing a perception shifting moment that forces you to reconsider the entire movie you just watched. Pain and Glory is no different — and it's better for it. 

Almodóvar takes a look back

The movie follows Salvador Mallo (Banderas), a revered Spanish director who suffers from multiple physical and mental ailments that he describes over a psychedelic montage of graphics. These ailments have prevented him from putting out a movie in years. However, a local theater contacts him asking for him to do a Q&A at a screening of his movie Sabor, which has been remastered. Although, they also ask if he could ask the star of the film Alberto Crespo to attend as well. The only problem is the pair had a falling out and haven't spoken for 30 years as Salvador was unhappy with his performance in the film — mirroring a similar situation Almodóvar had with Banderas. 

They eventually meet and though there is awkwardness, they bond while smoking heroin, which helps Salvador manage his pain. Alberto agrees to do the Q&A and the pair set off on repairing their friendship. The scenes between the creative partners bristle with comic energy but are also laced with sadness and regret. As Almodóvar said after the screening, “everything is familiar to me.” Much of the film is pulled from moments in his life and you can feel him reckoning with those moments. 

All the while, we see clips of Salvador's poor childhood with his mother Jacinta (Penélope Cruz) where we learn about his love of cinema and realization of his sexuality — particularly his infatuation with a local handyman (César Vicente). The entire movie is filmed with bright blocks of color inhabiting the sets, costumes, and graphics. These flashback scenes have a more natural quality to them, although they're also clean and specific, just like a memory. We'll come back to this. 

Balancing authenticity with his signature style

A scene never rings false in Pain and Glory, even when they're particularly humorous or ridiculous. If anything, that quirky quality is what makes each moment work. That and Banderas' masterful performance. We first meet him sitting at the bottom of a pool — something Almodóvar mentions makes him recall various memories — and what we see is the movie star Banderas. The second he steps out, you see in his mannerisms, delivery, and expressions that he is inhabiting a character. One part Almodóvar and one part his own creation, possibly pulling from his own experiences.

This year, various members of the old guard of filmmakers have released films that reckon with their own reputations and mortality — Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, in particular. Pain and Glory, in my opinion, is the best of that group. It's easily the most personal and assured, which is saying a lot when you're talking about two of the most established filmmakers working today.

Slight spoiler alert. 

The final shot of the film returns to a scene we saw earlier where a young Salvador sleeps on a bench with his mother by his side. As the camera pulls out, we see a person holding an audio boom. Then, a man walks in with a clapboard. We learn that all the flashbacks were shots from a film Salvador was directing, a direct way of saying that this movie is Almodóvar coming to peace with his past. The brilliance of it can't be understated. It establishes Pain and Glory as one of my favorite movies of the year.