20s Movie Review - Strange Way of Life

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Genre: Western/ Drama
Runtime: 31 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal
Description: After twenty-five years Silva (Pedro Pascal) rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke). They celebrate the meeting, but the next morning Jake tells him that that reason for this trip is not to go down the memory lane of their friendship.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 34: A FILM FROM 2023
 
Review: It is clear that Pedro Almodóvar wants to make a statement, making “Strange Way of Life as a classic western, one of the most masculine film genres out there. From the sets through the characters and to the music breathes the Wild West.

The dhort film begins promisingly, with the introduction of the two men and a mesmerizing version of the title song “Extraña forma de vida”.

There is murder, there is blood vengeance and honor, there is family loyalto. And there is a secret that took place twenty-five years earlier between the two men, sheriff Jake and hitman Silva. The film focuses mainly on the interaction between these two main characters, who have taken different paths yet never forgot each other.

But even though the film is only half an hour long, it feels like it contains unnecessary scenes. The flashback scene was not needed, from the interaction alone you can figure out what happened all those years ago.

I love both Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as actors, and these is an attraction between the two. But it doesn’t feel like a deep, inescapable connection. The dialogues feel a bit flat.

“Strange Way of Life” is undeniably solidly made, the camerawork is impeccable, as is art direction, editing and music. But it stays too much on the surface. Perhaps this movie would work better as a full-length film instead of a short movie. Hawke and Pascal do make up for a lot, individually.

Rating: 3/ 5