ANTONIO Banderas is a versatile actor. From his unmistakable voicework as the sword wielding feline, Puss in Boots, to his more recent turn on TV as famed Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, Banderas has quite the range.
And now he’s receiving considerable praise (including a best actor award at the Cannes film festival) for his role as Pedro Almodavar in the director’s latest offering, ‘Pain and Glory’.
And while officially Banderas plays a fictional character named Salvador Mallo, Almodavar, who also wrote the script, has already admitted in an interview that when referring to his creation: “deep down I know I’m talking about myself”.
The film tells the story of an ageing and illness ridden director who while reflecting on his career and life, reconnects with characters from his past, both real and remembered.
We travel back with Mallo on drug fuelled trips to 1960s Valencia and meet a young boy (himself) surrounded by poverty, but happy with the escapism he discovers in books and movies.
In what represents a nostalgic look back on the loves and struggles of a creative genius, each shot is skilfully framed, with superb acting performances from Banderas and Penelope Cruz as Mallo’s mother.
A director contemplating his or her life as the subject for a movie is nothing new, (think John Boorman’s ‘Hope and Glory’) but this feature works particularly well and is easily worth your time and effort.
We award it a review score of 3.5 pain free stars.
Still playing in cinemas and about as far removed from a sentimental European drama as you could find is ‘Good Boys’, the very funny pre-teen comedy about a group of young boys who lose a parent’s drone while spying on a couple making out next door, and set about replacing it.
It stars Jacob Tremblay from ‘Room’ and features Seth Rogan in the trailer, so you know what to expect.
And special mention must also go out to ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’, solid family entertainment in a junior ‘Indiana Jones’ sort of way that’s better than you might think.
Paul O’Rourke
