Pain and Glory (2019)
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Pain and Glory Movie Review
Pain and Glory is a 2019 Spanish drama film directed by Pedro Almodovar and starring Antonio Banderas. It’s a film that has some amazing moments, but overall it’s far from his best efforts.
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“The nights that coincide several pains,
those nights I believe in God and I pray to him.
The days when I only suffer a type of pain.
I’m an atheist“
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A film director reflects on the choices he’s made in life as the past and present come crashing down around him. The film acts as an autobiographical picture of sorts for Almodovar as some of the things here really happened to him so it has that air of self-importance to it that pervades the whole picture.
The film is basically told through a series of vignettes and thus it’s very uneven in quality as most such movies are. The whole part with the mother was less interesting to me as well as most of the first half to be honest. But one of the highlights is that animated sequence which lists all of the protagonist’s medical problems which was very well done and very memorable.
But easily the standout scene is the reunion between the protagonist and his lover. The two haven’t seen each other in years, and the scene thus plays out as this incredibly emotional, and also sweet reunion with a lot of tenderness and grace. The acting is terrific from both actors, and the dialogue is also wonderful.
Antonio Banderas looks quite different in this role. He looks much older than he actually is, and it’s also a different kind of role for him as he plays this fragile, older man who’s been through a lot. I wouldn’t call his performance here as amazing as others did, but still he played those emotional beats well, and in particular the believability on his part is very palpable.
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Pain and Glory in my opinion is a bit overrated. It’s a good movie, but far from the director’s best efforts. Yes, it’s personal, but the execution left a lot to be desired, especially in terms of structure and pacing as it’s very uneven in that regard. There are some longer, boring stretches here that mar the impact of the whole film. But still, the dialogue and its overall grace made it a very good, sweet flick.
Pain and Glory is uneven in terms of its vignette structure as some parts are less interesting than others. Antonio Banderas is very good and believable in the main role whereas the film looks memorably shiny and colorful. It has a lot of grace to it as well as very strong dialogue. The standout scene is the reunion between two lovers which is the sweetest and most memorable part of the movie.
