By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Ethan Hawke | George Steane | Manu Ríos | Pedro Casablanc | Pedro Pascal
Original language title: Extraña forma de vida
Year: 2023
Running time: 31
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13055264/reference/
Diane says: “STRANGE WAY OF LIFE opens on a typical Old West set, as the title song is sung, in Spanish, by what sounds like a female voice but turns out to be a man singing falsetto—intimations of unconventional elements to come.
“Shot in the locations of Sergio Leone’s Westerns, Almodóvar’s first period piece/costume drama drops us in the middle of the action: the sheriff (Ethan Hawke) is apprised of a suspect in the murder of his relative, just before his old friend (Pedro Pascal) rides into town. There are plenty of conventional elements too: the tracking in the desert, the tussle on the ground where the third-party shooter risks shooting the wrong man…. A heavy orchestral score mocks the action (unintentionally?). I found it all a bit silly. Plus, in his interview, Almodóvar shared his thoughts on what happens next for the protagonists. I am sure he is wrong. 3 cats for a painless little project from a top director.”
Strange Way of Life