Pedro Almodóvar Describes His Latest Era in Life as ‘More Somber, More Austere, More Melancholic, Less Certain’

Harrison Richlin
·3 min read

Pedro Almodóvar isn’t getting any younger…but he is still trying to figure out how he can live forever. Many might say he’s already accomplished this with his highly influential and beloved ouevre, which includes “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “All About My Mother,” “Pain and Glory,” and his upcoming, Golden Lion-winning “The Room Next Door” starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. However, as reported by The New York Times, in his upcoming collection of short stories, diary entries, and essays, “The Last Dream,” the Spanish filmmaker shared how he still feels he has more searching to do, but it has become a much more difficult process the older he gets.

“In this new century I’ve become more somber, more austere, more melancholic, less certain, more insecure, and more afraid,” Almodóvar wrote in his semi-autobiography.

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Explaining in the introduction why he’s choosing to publish this personal work he’s saved over the years, he wrote, “I’ve been asked to write my biography more than once, and I’ve always refused. This book represents something of a paradox. It might be best described as a fragmentary autobiography, incomplete and a little cryptic.”

Speaking to the Times for an interview regarding “The Last Dream,” Almodóvar shared his shock and appreciation over the impact of his work on others and how they’re being taught in “university departments.” Despite this awareness of his own legacy, he still seems to view time as something that’s ticking away.

“I have a problem with death now, with mortality,” Almodóvar said. “I don’t think ‘I’ve just lived another day,’ but instead, ‘I’ve got one less day to live.’”

Turning 75 later this month, the Academy Award-winning, self-proclaimed “fabulist” can feel himself slipping away, especially when it comes to the practice of writing.

“There are certain skills that gradually disappear over time,” said Almodóvar. “I remember, throughout the month I’d come up with, I don’t know, 10 stories that I could write to make into a movie, and right now that has disappeared.”

However, at the same, he knows he still has more work today and is thankful that filmmaking isn’t as arduous as other careers where people are forced to age out.

“Fortunately, literature and cinema are two professions that have longevity,” Almodóvar said. “It’s not like being a tennis player who, at 35, has already finished his career.”

One hopes this is a sly reference to one of this year’s best films, Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” but as far as his own, Almodóvar hopes “The Room Next Door” captures the complexities of both death and life. Describing it to the Times, he said, “This latest film I’ve made talks about dying, but it’s also about trying to live with mortality.”

“The Room Next Door” will be released theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics in NY and LA on December 20 followed by a select theater expansion on Christmas and a wide release in January 2025.

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