Pedro Almodovar is what’s considered an auteur director. He has directed some of the best films in international cinema. He has worked with Oscar-nominated actors like Penelope Cruise and Antonio Banderas. He hasn’t made a full-length American language film, though. A Strange Way of Life is actually his second short in the English language, and he works with some big-name actors at the top of their game right now. 

Jake (Ethan Hawke) is the sheriff of the small town of Bitter Creek near the Mexico border. A friend from the past, Silva (Pedro Pascal) makes a long journey back to see his old friend of 25 years. They sit and reminisce, but that’s not the only reason Silva has returned after all these years. There was an incident that happened that brought these two men back together once again after all this time, and it put them both in a very difficult situation.

Almodovar also hasn’t made a Western yet, and this one, even though it’s a short film, is his first. He understands the Western thought. He gives viewers two characters and puts them into a situation that causes drama and makes viewers choose which side they want to support. More often than not, the two main characters are both people we can relate to. That’s the case here as well. These two men both have legitimate reasons for doing what they do in this movie.

This particular Western is a modern-day Western known as a Neo-Western, but it has the feel of an older Western thought. The modern aspects are very minute because the places it takes place in are secluded and there aren’t a lot of modern-day amenities seen in the film. There are some flashbacks to the early days of these two men’s friendship, though. That’s a key to understanding who these men truly are in the future.

What I saw in A Strange Way of Life was the love and respect of two men who have known each other for many years. There is also a tragic element to this story. When it comes to the West there is an inevitability of gunslinger. And where there are guns, there are people that get shot and blood flows. Being a color film, the blood is very bright red and noticeable for everyone to see. The colors are very vibrant and this film comes to life in that regard.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen