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Harlan Jacobson’s Talk Cinema

Pain and Glory
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

Thursday, October 10, 7 pm

“Pain and Glory is Almodóvar’s best work for years, marvelously framed and composed.”—David Sexton, London Evening Standard

Pain and Glory finds writer-director Pedro Almodóvar drawing on his own life to rewarding effect and honoring his craft as only a master filmmaker can.

Antonio Banderas, in one of his best performances of his career, stars as a film director in physical decline. His ailments keep him nearly homebound allowing time for reflection particularly of his childhood in the 1960s when he emigrated with his parents to a village in Valencia in search of prosperity. His memories are grounded in his early desires as we see the impact of the loss of his first love in 1980s Madrid. The strain of that breakup had a profound impact as his feeling were intense.

Writing provided his only therapy channeling his life experiences into his cinematic work, but after time stress created a void impairing his ability to make films. Pain and Glory addresses the creative process, the difficulty of separating art from one’s own life, and the passions that give life meaning and hope. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it and find salvation.

A selection of the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival. 2019, Spain, DCP, in Spanish with English subtitles, 112 minutes. Rated R.

This national series, programmed by the venerable film critics and film curators Harlan and Susan Jacobson, features a sneak preview screening of an art house film prior to its release followed by a discussion.

Past films have included The Farewell, Moonlight, Shoplifters, Stan and Ollie, Capernaum, Lady Bird, and I, Tonya.

Harlan Jacobson's Talk Cinema: Pain and Glory