On Friday 6th September a group of Sixth Form Spanish students had the pleasure of joining Ms Zaratiegui and Ms Casais, accompanied by our parents, on a trip to the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton.
We were there to watch the new film Pain and Glory by the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, whose film Volver we are currently studying at A level. The film is a loose retelling of the events of Almodovar’s life and is a powerful mix of autobiography and fiction, with some fantastic performances from Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.
It was fascinating to gain some extra insight into his life and to see how the themes and imagery, such as the use of colour and the involvement of his mother, from his earlier works, are revisited in this new feature. The film tells the story of Salvador Mallo (Banderas), an auto-fictional director in crisis, who has fallen into a depressive cycle and must rely on strong medication to stay afloat. We see him reuniting with the lead actor in his 1980s film, Sabor, who he has been estranged from for 30 years. A festival necessitates this reunion for them to introduce a revival of the film. There was plenty of light-hearted humour, but also many poignant moments to reflect on as we made our way home after an extremely enjoyable evening. Almodovar’s deep love of cinema, through all its ‘pain and glory’, clearly shined through.
Many thanks to Ms Zaratiegui, Ms Casais and the other students for organising the trip.
Emilia Cartlich (Upper Sixth)