I sent an e-mail to a friend in Indiana.

“ .. had an exquisite time at the cinema this afternoon.”

Inadvertently, I hit the send button before I completed my text.

The completed text:
Movie theatres are reminiscent of train stations, in a way – people buying tickets to be transported somewhere and people looking at big informational boards for clock-time schedules.

Moving into the theatre, Inside the screening room, I normally sit in the back and on the end. I don’t tend to mind the trailers and the commercials, that is, assuming that there are not too many to view.
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Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, Dolor Y Gloria (Pain & Glory) in its simplest form is one’s person reflection or meditation on his life. Of course, this Spanish director has evolved melodrama and melodramatic content to a high art. Essentially, in the story, Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), the main character, confronts his physical ailments, chemical addictions, and bittersweet memories at a time when he is semi-retired from his work as a film director and a writer.

As always, the set design, camera work, image composition, and musical score are rich with melancholic and deep resonant tones. Similar to his last film, Julietta, his current film, Dolor Y Gloria, forces the lead character, Salvador Mallo, to introspect his past in order to become unstruck in his present time and ultimately to move forward.

It continues to be intriguing the director’s utilization of former actors and actresses, who have appeared in his earlier films, in his late work, and of course in his new film (i.e., Julieta Serrano, Penelope Cruz, Augustin Almodóvar, and Cecilia Roth). Intriguingly, unlike many of his other films which feature women in strong prominent roles and feature vibrant feminist’s themes, Dolor y Gloria, is more male-centric in its focus.

Incidentally, the highlight of this thoughtful and nuanced film, is the bittersweet and complex performances, by the two male leads, Antonio Banderas and Aisier Etxeandia.