There are few things in this world that get us as riled up as Pedro Almodóvar, Brokeback Mountain, and Saint Laurent. So the news that all three are sort of coming together to create a film is mostly beyond what our pea brains can comprehend. Alas! It is happening.
It was the year 2020 when director Pedro Almodóvar released his first short film in the English language, and now the Spanish filmmaker is returning for a sexy short titled Strange Way of Life and billing it as his own personal answer to Brokeback Mountain (after declining to direct it years ago in 2004/5), and leaving Ang Lee to receive all those Oscars. Oh well, Pedro.
The film, starring Pedro Pascal (our other favourite Pedro) and Ethan Hawke, is confirmed to debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival in May, as Saint Laurent's Creative Director, Anthony Vaccarello, posted to his Instagram.
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The plot
The title, Strange Way of Life, is reportedly derived from a “very sad” Portuguese fado song by Amalia Rodrigues. The film is a 30 minute short, in which a duo of middle-aged gunslingers who haven't seen each other in 25 years (bless). The Northman's Ethan Hawke and The Last of Us' Pedro Pascal take the lead in the roles of Jake, a sheriff, and a gun man named Silva, who will star alongside Spanish actors Manu Ríos and Sara Sálamo.
After one travels through the desert to find his long lost "friend", there will reportedly be some kind of "showdown". Code for some homoerotic happenings, perhaps? Almodóvar insists that you'll have to wait and see, but the absolute and semi-unexpected cherry on top is that the costume design and production will be done by Saint Laurent (!!).
In the meantime, satiate yourself with the newly-released trailer, below.
The set
As so many classical Western films are, the film was mostly shot in southern Spain, where Sergio Leone famously filmed The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In case anyone was worried, Almodóvar is playing copy cat, he has assured IndieWire: “I’m not consciously referencing those movies,” Almodóvar told them in an interview, adding: “I don’t know what it will be like, except that it will be mine.” We don't doubt it for a moment <3
Release date
The film is set to debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which runs from 16-27 May. We should be seeing it hit theatres some time after.
Image: Saint Laurent Productions.
