Set to premiere at the 76th annual Cannes film festival, Strange Way of Life is Almodóvar’s second English-language project following his 2020 short film The Human Voice. Beyond the glamour of Cannes, the film is set to receive a cinematic release in the UK so viewers can take in the beauty of the desert and longing performances on the big screen. The short has been described as Almodóvar’s answer to Brokeback Mountain, nearly two decades after the Spanish director was given the opportunity to direct Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal which never came to fruition. The director gave up this offer due to concerns that he wouldn’t have the creative freedom to make the movie to his own vision. Thankfully, Almodóvar never gave up on his ambition to make a queer western film and this short film has already created a lot of hype surrounding its premise. From the first trailer, it’s clear that Strange Way of Life is going to have a heightened and melodramatic tone - but perhaps the biggest draw to this project is the romantic tension that will clearly sizzle between the two leads, Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke.
The film follows Pascal’s Silva, a cowboy travelling on horseback across the desert to meet his old friend, Hawke’s Sheriff Jake. The two men haven’t seen each other in 25 years, and Silva soon finds that his trip was not meant for reminiscing on past events. The trailer promises a film which untangles the complicated romance between Silva and Sheriff Jake. Is the film going to be reflective of the past of these two men? Or is it going to show a rekindling of feelings that Silva and Sheriff Jake have long buried? Either way, it’s clear that this film is about lost love and the heightened emotions are evident in the first trailer. From the cry of Pedro’s Silva saying “you never loved me, you never loved anyone in your life” to the colours and landscape of the desert, this spaghetti western is likely to get viewers' feelings stirred up, even in its short 30-minute runtime.