Jake hasn’t seen Silva for 25 years when he walks through his door. The greetings are eager, but a little distant, as if the two men were restraining themselves from showing too much joy. This is because we are in the American West of the past, and Jake is the sheriff of the place. Once lovers, briefly, furiously, these cowboys said goodbye. Clearly, though, they still have desire for each other, and maybe more. However, circumstances work against them in Pedro Almodóvar’s magnificent short film Strange Way of Life (Odd way of living), which stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal.
“Frankly, I wanted to offer something that most westerns have rarely or never done: represent desire between two men,” confides Pedro Almodóvar during a tête-à-tête organized at the Toronto International Film Festival ( TIFF) a few weeks ago.
Despite chronic back pain, the most famous Spanish filmmaker displays an affable mood. And for good reason, apart from the fact that he must be honored by TIFF that day, Pedro Almodóvar is proud of his new short film. Is right.
“The western may well be one of the genres most largely dominated by male characters, but rarely, very rarely, has the love between two cowboys been addressed,” continues the filmmaker.
Except for the heartbreaking Brokeback Mountain (Memories of Brokeback Mountain), in fact, the examples are not legion. And we know how it ends for the unfortunate protagonists of Ang Lee’s film. Even in the splendidly subversive The Power of the Dog (The power of the dog), by Jane Campion, death awaits.
Conversely, if he does not indulge in naive positivism, Pedro Almodóvar refuses to condemn his cowboys to misfortune. The major cinematographic genres having, historically, often reserved a sad fate for explicitly or implicitly gay characters (see the documentary The Celluloid Closet), Almodóvar’s bias is welcome.
“I have always loved and admired the western, but I had never written anything related to it before. At the same time, I’m not an expert on its history or the cowboy lifestyle, so a feature film was out of the question. With a short film of around thirty minutes, on the other hand, I felt comfortable venturing into these lands. It was almost like a game. It was like fulfilling an old childhood dream, when I played cowboy, but with my adult maturity. »
After Love
Interesting fact, Strange Way of Life almost saw the light of day in a completely different form, in this case theatrical.
“You should know that I write a lot, all the time. Sometimes an idea comes to me, and I can write ten pages in one go. It may remain as a short story on my computer, but it also happens that it becomes a film project. In the case of Strange Way of Life, it all started with a conversation that I wrote: a dialogue between two men, two cowboys, after a night of alcohol and sex. I glimpsed a short room, with these two lovers sitting on their sides of the bed, discussing what had just happened. They have contrasting reactions to the events of the night they have just experienced. »
This loving dialogue reached around fifteen pages.
“The theatrical avenue seemed interesting to me, because in Madrid we have what is called the microteatrothat is to say minimalist pieces mounted in private apartments, building vestibules, alleys, anywhere…”
Busy with various professional obligations, however, the filmmaker did not push further. Then, a month later, he learned that the Yves Saint Laurent house wanted to partner with him for a film of his choice.
“I remembered my two cowboys. The possibility of a short film emerged and a story quickly took shape around the dialogue I had written: what happened before Jake and Silva reunited, and what will happen after these? »
The plot of Strange Way of Life was built from these questions.
Mature sensuality
Straddling Nicholas Ray’s western (Johnny Guitar) and the Technicolor melodramas of Douglas Sirk, the film playfully deconstructs the macho codes of the genre while paying homage to it. Moreover, Pedro Almodóvar filmed in the same natural settings as Sergio Leone before him, in the Tabernas desert (often used instead of the United States or Mexico), in Spain.
“I wanted to explore the sensuality between two mature men; show what words and looks can convey, and expose this expression, rather than the bodies themselves. It was stronger that way in my opinion. Take when Ethan says to Pedro, “One night with you, and all my ills are cured.” I was especially attentive to such lines, which say one thing on the surface, but mean much more in reality. »
At the same time, Pedro Almodóvar says he is delighted with the interpretation of his two American stars.
“Jake is cold and opaque, while Silva is warm and passionate. I knew Ethan and Pedro could embody that. They were my first choices and they accepted right away. Their couple worked from the first rehearsal, both as actors and as fictional lovers. The complicity was there from the start. »
Carried by the grandiose (and hermannesque) music of Alberto Iglesias and caressed by the saturated light of José Luis Alcaine, two assiduous collaborators of the filmmaker, the two stars engage in a duel that is at once sensual, violent and melancholy.
A prosperous period
Note that this short film is the twelfth by Pedro Almodóvar, who has also directed 22 feature films. His previous short, The Human Voice (The human voice), free adaptation of a play by Jean Cocteau with Tilda Swinton, and the director’s first foray into the language of Shakespeare, was a marvel. This, like its long predecessor, the autobiographical Pain and gloryand its long follow-up, the dense Parallel motherswhich he spoke to us about at the time.
Pedro Almodóvar is therefore currently experiencing a prosperous period, in terms of inspiration. While specifying that he carries out all these types of cinematographic projects as he sees fit, the filmmaker admits to having a weakness these years for the short, which allows him increased latitude.
” For Strange Way of LifeI felt completely free, as if The Human Voice. It’s the format. I don’t have the same relationship with short films as I do with feature films. The requirements are different. With the short, I have the impression of satisfying a whim, if you will. »
Yes, we want to.
Strange Way of Life will be presented in a double bill with The Human Voice in original English version and with French subtitles.