A trailer for a new gay Western starring The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal and Black Phone actor Ethan Hawke together for the first time has moviegoers thirsting to see it in theaters ASAP.
Strange Way of Life–written by Academy Award-winner Pedro Almodóvar–is the new Brokeback Mountain, also featuring intimacy between two cowboys in a movie genre that had previously been dominated by cisgender heterosexual male characters.
But unlike 2005's Brokeback Mountain– directed by Oscar-winner Ang Lee–Strange Way of Life is a 30-minute short film that promises to be even gayer than the predecessor that inspired it.
It is Almodóvar's second English-language effort following 2020's The Human Voice.
The story is about two middle-aged gunslingers featuring Silva–played by Pascal–who travels across the desert on a horse and reunites with Hawke's character, Sheriff Jake, after 25 years.
However, Jake informs Silva the next morning that their trip down memory lane is about to have a major detour.
Filming took place in Spain’s Almeria region, which is where Sergio Leone famously shot the 1966 epic spaghetti Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood.
But Almodóvar told Indiewire his new short film was not intentionally envisioned as a throwback to the genre.
He clarified:
“I’m not consciously referencing those movies. I don’t know what it will be like, except that it will be mine.”
You can watch the trailer for Strange Way of Life here.
Almodóvar suggested Strange Way of Life "could be like my answer to Brokeback Mountain."
He once considered directing that film but ultimately parted ways with the studio since he felt he might be discouraged from making it more sexually provocative.
“I think Ang Lee made a wonderful movie," he said, "but I never believed that they would give me complete freedom and independence to make what I wanted."
“Nobody told me that—they said, ‘You can do whatever you want,’ but I knew that there was a limitation.”
The Spanish filmmaker said that Brokeback's script, which Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana adapted from the eponymous short story by Annie Proulx, lacked a higher level of lust he wanted for the film.
Almodóvar described his original vision for the relationship between the two American cowboys–played by the late Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal–as being more "animalistic."
“It was a physical relationship," said Almodóvar.
"The punch of the movie comes when they have to separate, and Heath Ledger discovers that he can’t think about leaving. That’s a strong discovery."
"But until that moment, it is animalistic, and for me it was impossible to have that in the movie because it was a Hollywood movie. You could not have these two guys f'king all the time.”
During an episode of the Dua Lipa: At Your Service, podcast, Almodóvar described Strange Way of Life as:
"A queer Western in the sense that there are two men, and they love each other, and they behave in that situation in an opposite way”
He teased with more details about the short, saying:
“There will be a showdown between them, but really the story is very intimate.”
"Could it even be…romantic? You can guess.”
“I mean, masculinity is one of the subjects of the movie.”
Fans are ready to giddy up for what promises to be a wild ride.
People had more specific questions about the roles the two actors will be playing.
There was already one bellyachin' ahead of its release.
Nevertheless, people are already saddling up.
Strange Way of Life is produced along with Almodóvar's brother Augustin and Saint Laurent head designer Anthony Vaccarello–who also serves as the costume designer.
The short film's title was taken from the name of a Portuguese fado song by Amalia Rodrigues.
He told Indiewire the song will open the movie and added:
“Those songs are all very sad, and that is how these two main characters live.”
Strange Way of Life will premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival next month, followed by a U.S. release from Sony Pictures Classics in theaters this fall.
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