It’s Pedro Almodovar again. But now, his stories have become so much more evolved…
Pain and Glory is the story of a young boy who grows up to be a celebrated Spanish filmmaker. That’s it. And the classic Pedro scenes… without the superficial drama…

Story: I’m usually entertained by Pedro films, but find them to be kinda silly. Pain and Glory truly represents his evolution as a filmmaker. It’s a much more thoughtful reveal from beginning to end.

Pedro does an excellent job of creating relationships between the characters and sees the relationships through from start to finish. This story doesn’t leave you feeling like you missed something. You feel like you got it all.

Performances: Some films are built on their story… some rely heavily on a character or characters… this film develops like an ensemble piece.

BUT, the characters are endearing. It fells less like performances and more like real people. That’s my litmus test for Oscar gold. If I cease to see the actor in a role and get lost in the character.

Antonio Banderas as adult Salvador… Penelope Cruz as young Salvador’s mother and of course, young Salvador himself played by Asier Flores. All genuine performances that feel so real. Oscars for the performances? Maybe not, but…

Visual: If you’ve ever been to Spain, it has its own unique look. So it’s easy to recognize the surroundings. So much so that I even thought I could smell Spain… (also has some distinctive smells). Not that this is hard to do for a Spanish director who lives in Spain, but it’s worth calling out.

Rating: In another Communicado review I said I had a different pick for 2019 Oscar best picture. Pain and Glory is my pick for the 92nd Academy Awards best picture. Would still have been the first foreign language film to ever win best picture, but, I just found Pain and Glory to be more thoughtful than Parasite.

A+. Figure out how to see Pain and Glory and watch it five times like I did. And if you don’t fall in love with young Salvador as I did, there’s something wrong with you…