Pedro Almodóvar, speaking in Manhattan for the New York Film Festival, discussed why he cast himself as the villain of “Bitter Christmas” and said he feels “a little guilty.”
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Pedro Almodóvar said he feels “a little guilty” about turning himself into the villain of his latest film, “Bitter Christmas,” in comments made during an interview while he was in Manhattan for the New York Film Festival.
The Q&A focused on an “autofiction” approach in which two stories unfold about filmmakers, including a veteran director suffering from a creative block, Raúl (Leonardo Sbaraglia). Almodóvar said the film’s most meta turn came from the possibility of being questioned by one of the characters.
He said that when he wrote the script, he wanted to shoot the final 20 minutes and was surprised when it “suddenly appeared: the possibility of being questioned by one of the characters,” adding that he thought of Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello and that it was “new” for him.
Almodóvar was asked whether an author ever crosses a line when dealing with real life. He said it is “a moral question” tied to an author’s ethical sensibility, adding that when he has used real life in his work he tries “not to hurt anyone.”
Pressed on his reaction, he said: “Yes. I feel a little guilty.” He told the interviewer he never considered changing what he did, but said he felt “a little uncomfortable,” describing the creator as someone who can become selfish because “you only think about the story.”
In the same interview, Almodóvar said he has made 24 features and described filmmaking as a passion rather than a job, saying he still feels anxiety about “What’s coming next?” He also said his recent life has been dominated by “only writing and making movies and promoting them,” which he said has left him more isolated.
Asked whether retirement is unfathomable, Almodóvar said the moment he stops feeling passion for a particular script could be the moment he stops making films. He also described how his filmmaking changed over time, contrasting the communal atmosphere he described from Spain’s 1980s democracy era with a later, more solitary life focused on writing.
Almodóvar said he marked a transition around ’95, when he shot “The Flower of My Secret,” describing it as a film in which he talked about his family and creation and noting it was the first time he set up a tripod to shoot in his hometown after leaving when he was 9.
On political matters, he said he does not consider himself an activist, but argued that he wants to speak against “the dangers around us,” including what he called the “inhumane hunting by ICE.” He said for him, topics are about “human value.”
Almodóvar also addressed his criticisms of Netflix in relation to “Bitter Christmas,” where he pleads: “Don’t reduce me to making a TV movie.” He said movie theatres in Spain were hit severely, with “Five hundred theaters closed in a short period of time,” but that he has seen the closure rate slow and that people are returning to cinemas.
“Bitter Christmas” is scheduled to be released in theatres by Sony Pictures Classics on Friday, according to the interview text.
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