Today brought the release of the first official trailer for the upcoming film Dolor y Gloria. It is written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar who is known for films like All About My Mother and Volver. He is a very prominent figure in the Spanish film community and has won many awards, such as the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Starring in the film are prominent names such as Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Penélope Cruz, Julieta Serrano and Leonardo Sbaraglia. The trailer doesn’t give much info about the plot except for a heap of beautifully composed shots from scenes that can begin to infer a larger picture about Banderas’ character Salvador Mallo. The film follows Mallo, a movie director, as he ages and begins to look back on the entirety of his life. He will consider death and mortality, family and the loved ones he has had in his life, and more.
Almodóvar takes obvious inspiration from one the of the greatest films of all time, Federico Fellini’s 8 ½. It can be seen in the similar story of a fictional director in the midst of making a film while he becomes pensive on the past and his life experiences. It is also visible in some of the shots present in the trailer such as the white-walled childhood home and Mallo’s interactions with his mother.
Dolor y Gloria seems to have the potential to be a fantastic film, and possibly put Almodóvar back into the scene of film awards which he is used to with his critically acclaimed films. It is scheduled for a Spain release on March 2nd of this year by Sony Pictures Releasing, but there is no word on a US release date yet. The trailer can be checked out below.