It's partially my fault that I disliked this film. I paid my $15 and about $17 for a drink and popcorn not knowing this was a short film. I like to see films without knowing anything about them in advance. But this film may have killed this notion for me after having it serve me well for 25 years.
This isn't a short film; it's an aborted film. Almodovar - who has provided queer filmgoers like myself much to cheer about throughout his career - utterly disappoints by setting up a fantastic premise - elaborating on it for 30 minutes - and then just ending it before it has a chance to resolve in any meaningful way. When the end credit came up - I though Almodovar was doing that Warholian trick - turned into genre by Dennis Hopper's "The Last Movie" and the recent film "Drive My Car" of putting the credits deep into the movie's begining. But nope - this was the end of the short film. I was shocked and angry. Worse - at the screening I attended in Austin - the short was followed by another Almodovar short called "The Human Voice" from 2020 with Tilda Swinton. As usual, the actress is amazing - but the plot and dialogue of this film is so cliched and tired, we've seen it a million times. And Aldomovar films it as some sort of homage to Lars Von Trier's "Dogtown," a film I absolutely despise.... - Then came a 40 minute interview with Almodovar where he discusses "Strange Way of Life" to the point of rendering the short film even more irrelevant - and he tells how he would end it if it were a feature film One of the most infuriating endings to a cinema visit I've had to endure since the 2010's. "A Strange Way of Life" is a strange way to make films: Abort the story when it gets most interesting - then do interviews that tell how the story ends. A sure signpost towards the death of brick and mortal cinemas if I have ever seen one.
This isn't a short film; it's an aborted film. Almodovar - who has provided queer filmgoers like myself much to cheer about throughout his career - utterly disappoints by setting up a fantastic premise - elaborating on it for 30 minutes - and then just ending it before it has a chance to resolve in any meaningful way. When the end credit came up - I though Almodovar was doing that Warholian trick - turned into genre by Dennis Hopper's "The Last Movie" and the recent film "Drive My Car" of putting the credits deep into the movie's begining. But nope - this was the end of the short film. I was shocked and angry. Worse - at the screening I attended in Austin - the short was followed by another Almodovar short called "The Human Voice" from 2020 with Tilda Swinton. As usual, the actress is amazing - but the plot and dialogue of this film is so cliched and tired, we've seen it a million times. And Aldomovar films it as some sort of homage to Lars Von Trier's "Dogtown," a film I absolutely despise.... - Then came a 40 minute interview with Almodovar where he discusses "Strange Way of Life" to the point of rendering the short film even more irrelevant - and he tells how he would end it if it were a feature film One of the most infuriating endings to a cinema visit I've had to endure since the 2010's. "A Strange Way of Life" is a strange way to make films: Abort the story when it gets most interesting - then do interviews that tell how the story ends. A sure signpost towards the death of brick and mortal cinemas if I have ever seen one.