Taking great pain

Almodóvar’s semi- autobiography is melancholic but moving, with Antonio Banderas on top form

PAIN AND GLORY

The latest film from the greatest working gay filmmaker, Pedro Almodóvar, finds him in a semi- autobiographical frame of mind — but if you’re expecting a portrait of the artist as fabulously flamboyant as his most outrageous work, you’re in for a surprise. Pain and Glory is a restrained, bitter- sweet work, a reflection on the artistic inspirations and sexual desires that have led celebrated director Salvador Mallo, beautifully played by Antonio Banderas, both to the peak of his career and some way past it. He’s a study in vanity, agony and queer loneliness, barely held t ogether by genius. Once you settle into the film’s melancholy groove, it becomes intensely, intimately moving, drawing further pathos from the real- life history between star and director. The entire film is infused with the evident tenderness and understanding between them. 23 August