Strange Way of Life

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Strange Way of Life
Theatrical release poster
SpanishExtraña forma de vida
Directed byPedro Almodóvar
Written byPedro Almodóvar
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJosé Luis Alcaine
Edited byTeresa Font
Music byAlberto Iglesias
Production
companies
Distributed byBTeam Pictures
Release dates
  • 17 May 2023 (2023-05-17) (Cannes)
  • 26 May 2023 (2023-05-26) (Spain)
Running time
31 minutes[1]
CountrySpain[1]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.1 million[2]

Strange Way of Life (Spanish: Extraña forma de vida) is a 2023 Spanish Western drama short film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunslingers who reunite after 25 years. The film marks Almodóvar's second English-language effort, following The Human Voice (2020).

Strange Way of Life premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023. It was released theatrically in Spain on 26 May 2023 by BTeam Pictures.

Plot[edit]

After 25 years apart, Silva rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Sheriff Jake. Jake has been informed that his brother's wife has been murdered, and the suspect, her violent boyfriend Joe, was last seen leaving her home. Sworn to look after his brother's wife, Jake takes it upon himself to arrest her killer personally. He is surprised when Silva shows up, and the two have dinner and reminisce about their youth before having sex. The next morning, Silva tries to remind Jake of his idea of the two of them owning a ranch together, but Jake rebuffs him, accusing Silva of trying to use him: Joe is Silva's son, and he suspects Silva has only arrived in town now after being gone for 25 years to help Joe escape. They argue and Silva leaves to find Joe. Jake follows him and the two men separately recall an afternoon in their youth when they first made love.

The next day, Silva locates Joe in his home and angrily excoriates him, giving him just enough money and a horse to cross to Mexico, telling him to never return. Jake surprises Joe and the two fight, until they both pull their guns out on one another. Silva pulls a rifle on Joe, warning him not to shoot Jake and to take the horse and go. He does so, but as Jake moves to fire on Joe, Silva shoots Jake clean through the side. He drags Jake into the house and tends to his wound, telling him the shot was clean and that he will be fine. Jake says he will have Silva arrested for attempted murder, but Silva counters that his obvious tending to Jake's wounds would throw that motive out. As they sit there, Silva recalls that Jake once asked him what two men could possibly do together on a ranch alone, and Silva tells him that they could take care of one another.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

In June 2022, it was announced that Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal would star in Pedro Almodóvar's short film A Strange Way of Life.[3] It is produced by Almodóvar's El Deseo in association with Yves Saint Laurent, whose head designer Anthony Vaccarello also served as an associate producer and the film's costume designer.[4] Almódovar worked with recurring collaborators such as cinematographer José Luis Alcaine and composer Alberto Iglesias, whilst Teresa Font took over film editing.[5] The film is titled after a 1960s Portuguese fado song by Amália Rodrigues.[6]

Speaking on Dua Lipa's podcast At Your Service, Almodóvar described the film as "a queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other. It's about masculinity in a deep sense because the Western is a male genre. What I can tell you about the film is that it has a lot of the elements of the Western. It has the gunslinger, it has the ranch, it has the sheriff, but what it has that most Westerns don't have is the kind of dialogue that I don't think a Western film has ever captured between two men."[7]

Principal photography began in August 2022 in Southern Spain, in the Tabernas Desert section of Almería and wrapped in September.[3][6][8]

Release[edit]

Strange Way of Life premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023.[9][10][11] The film was released theatrically in Spain on 26 May 2023 by BTeam Pictures.[12] Mubi distributed the film in Italy and Latin America, while Pathé released it in the United Kingdom.[13] This is the last Almodóvar film to be distributed by the UK branch of Pathé before its closure in November 2023, one month after the film's release.[14] Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States on 6 October 2023[15] and also released it in all other markets excluding France, Belgium and Switzerland as well as markets already acquired by BTeam, Mubi and Pathé.[16][17] It was also screened in the Acclaimed section of the 27th Lima Film Festival on 13 August 2023.[18]

In advance of its North American release, the film was screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September as part of a special "In Conversation With..." event with Almodóvar.[19]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A tantalizing glimpse of the bond between two people, the well-acted Strange Way of Life adds a brief but still rewarding chapter to Pedro Almodóvar's filmography."[20]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the film in his four-star review as "a queer western with a hint of kink", adding that "there is some very robust and old-fashioned storytelling here and Strange Way of Life feels quite old-fashioned in its way."[21]

Peter Debruge [de] of Variety called it "a glorified fashion commercial" for Yves Saint Laurent, commenting that "the use of models instead of actors betrays what this really is: a branding exercise, both for Almodóvar and costumier Vaccarello, plus two stars eager to show their allyship."[22]

Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood praised Hawke and Pascal for bringing "authenticity and a believable lived-in feel to their characters and this relationship",[23] while David Fear of Rolling Stone reviewed Strange Way of Life as "a provocative movie that brings out the best in both of its leads".[24]

Accolades[edit]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Cannes Film Festival 26 May 2023 Queer Palm Pedro Almodóvar Nominated
[25][26]
Astra Film and Creative Awards 6 January 2024 Best Short Film Strange Way of Life Nominated [27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Extraña Forma de Vida". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Strange Way of Life (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b Hopewell, John (28 June 2022). "Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal to Star in Pedro Almodovar's Western 'Strange Way of Life'". Variety. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ Kohn, Eric (28 June 2022). "Pedro Almodovar Details New Western with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, His 'Answer' to 'Brokeback Mountain'". IndieWire. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  5. ^ Martínez, Beatriz (12 April 2023). "'Extraña forma de vida', el wéstern queer de Pedro Almodóvar que estará en el Festival de Cannes". Infobae (in Spanish).
  6. ^ a b Bastos, Margarida (17 August 2022). "New 'Strange Way of Life' Set Images Feature Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke in Costume". Collider. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  7. ^ Robledo, Jordan (4 December 2022). "Strange Way of Life: Here's when Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke's queer Western premieres". Gay Times.
  8. ^ Hawke, Ethan [@ethanhawke] (2 September 2022). "Golden hour is unreal in Spain. @PascalisPunk and I are wrapping production on #ExtrañaFormadeVida (#AStrangeWayOfLife). It's been a dream to work with Pedro Almodóvar and his wonderful team. Apologies for my Spanish. Have a great weekend, everyone". Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 76th Festival de Cannes" (PDF). Cannes Film Festival. 10 May 2023. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  10. ^ Loreto, Maria (5 January 2023). "Pedro Pascal's gay western to premiere in Cannes Film Festival". Hola!.
  11. ^ Azad, Navid Nikkhah. "Pedro Almodóvar's STRANGE WAY OF LIFE at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival". Deed News (Press release). Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  12. ^ Aller, María (26 April 2023). "'Extraña forma de vida': fecha de estreno, imágenes, reparto..." Fotogramas (in Spanish).
  13. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (12 April 2023). "Pedro Almodóvar's Gay Western Short 'Strange Way of Life' Scores First Deal With MUBI (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  14. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (15 November 2023). "Pathe U.K. Exits Film Distribution as Head of Film Cameron McCracken Retires". Variety.
  15. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (3 August 2023). "Sony Pictures Classics Releasing Pedro Almodóvar's Short 'Strange Way Of Life'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  16. ^ Vlessing, Etan (27 April 2023). "Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Pedro Almodóvar's LGBTQ Western 'Strange Way of Life'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  17. ^ Saperstein, Pat (27 April 2023). "Pedro Almodovar's Short Western 'Strange Way of Life' Acquired By Sony Pictures Classics". Variety. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Extraña forma de vida" [Strange Way of Life] (in Spanish). Lima Film Festival. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  19. ^ Kay, Jeremy (11 August 2023). "TIFF books Pedro Almodóvar, Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Andy Lau for In Conversation With... series". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Strange Way of Life". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  21. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (17 May 2023). "Strange Way of Life review – Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke sizzle in Almodóvar's queer cowboy yarn". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  22. ^ Debruge, Peter (17 May 2023). "'Strange Way of Life' Review: Pedro Almodóvar's Fashion Short Reduces Its Gay Cowboys to a Couple of Clothes Horses". Variety. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  23. ^ Hammond, Pete (17 May 2023). "'Strange Way Of Life' Review: Pedro Almodóvar's Short Is Homage To Classic Westerns, But With A Gay Twist Courtesy Of Ethan Hawke And Pedro Pascal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  24. ^ Fear, David (17 May 2023). "So About That Gay Cowboy Movie Starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke…". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  25. ^ Ques, Florian (4 May 2023). "Festival de Cannes : voici les films en lice pour la Queer Palm 2023" [Cannes Film Festival: here are the films nominated for the Queer Palm 2023]. Têtu (in French). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  26. ^ Ques, Florian (27 May 2023). "Festival de Cannes : la Queer Palm 2023 va à "Monster" et "Boléro"" [Cannes Film Festival: the Queer Palm 2023 goes to "Monster" and "Boléro"]. Têtu (in French). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  27. ^ "AwardsWatch - 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' Lead Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) Astra Awards Nominations". AwardsWatch. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.

External links[edit]

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