|
Almodovar's new western short film
The director from La Mancha (Spain) has returned to short films, a format that he used in his early days and that allowed him to make himself known in the 70s, now produced by El Deseo. Extraña forma de vida will have Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal in its cast.
|
|
|
The filming, which began in July 2022, is taking place in the province of Almería and is expected to continue in the Tabernas desert in August. This will be the third time that Almodóvar has filmed in Almería, where he has already set sequences for two works; on the beach of Agua Amarga for Laberinto de pasiones (1982) and the beach of Mónsul for Hable con ella (2002). Two years ago, at the Venice Film Festival, the director expressed his desire to shoot in places where some of the sets used for his films are preserved.
Extraña forma de vida begins with Silva (Ethan Hawke), who rides a horse along a desert toward Bitter Creek to visit Sheriff Jake (Pedro Pascal), with whom he had worked 25 years earlier, under the pretext of meeting with friend from youth. The relatives celebrate the reunion but the next morning the commissioner tells Silva that the real reason for his visit is not the memory of his old friendship.
The title of the film, explained the director, reflects the name of a song by the Portuguese Amália Rodrigues, in whose lyrics she affirms that "there is no existence more strange than the one that ignores its own desires." The film will last around 30 minutes, will feature the soundtrack by Alberto Iglesias and its genre will be the spaghetti western.
In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Almodóvar revealed the proposal that came to him to direct Brokeback Mountain in 2006. The reason he refused directing was his fear of not having the artistic control he wanted. “I was offered Brokeback Mountain, but I was very hesitant. Thinking about it, I don't know if I made a mistake or not (by getting off). I was promised total artistic freedom and final cut, but it was such a physical story, it's not just that the characters sleep together once. I think Ang Lee went as far as he could and I really like his version. But I always imagined it in a different way and I don't think they would have been able to do it the way I wanted. They wouldn't have let me." For this reason, Almodóvar decides to film Extraña forma de vida in response to his desire to approach a homosexual western with complete freedom.
His most recent short film was The Human Voice (2020) starring Tilda Swinton, based on Jean Cocteau's monologue. It was his first production in English, it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and soon after Sony Pictures acquired the distribution rights in the United States. Its premiere in Spain was on October 21 of the same year and three weeks later it had grossed more than 120,000 euros with 30,000 viewers, making it the highest-grossing short to date in the Iberian country.
|
