‘Strange Way of Life’ trailer: Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke star in Pedro Almodovar’s queer cowboy short film [Watch]

Christopher Rosen
·3 min read
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“Strange Way of Life,” the new short film from Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar, received its first trailer on Wednesday, weeks before its set to premiere as an out-of-competition title at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

The film, a queer Western that Almodovar previously said “could be my answer to ‘Brokeback Mountain,” stars Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as a pair of gunslingers who reunite after years apart. Here’s the official synopsis Almodovar provided Cannes: “A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship…”

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Almodovar added, “I must say no more so as not to give away all the surprises of the script. The strange way of life referred in the title alludes to the famous fado by Amalia Rodrigues, whose lyrics suggest that there is no stranger existence than the one that is lived by turning your back on your own desires.”

But while Almodovar was reticent to tell Cannes organizers anything further for the festival’s marketing material, the filmmaker has spoken extensively about the film previously. “There will be a showdown between them, but really the story is very intimate,” the director told Indiewire. Asked if that intimacy turned “romantic,” the acclaimed director said with a laugh, “You can guess. I mean, masculinity is one of the subjects of the movie.” (In another interview, this one with Dua Lipa, Almodovar called “Strange Way of Life” a “queer Western.”)

Pascal, meanwhile, has praised Almodovar for the short film, which is reported to run 30 minutes in length. “He absolutely opened up an entire world of storytelling, color, culture, rebellion, and sexuality that was just absolutely intoxicating, dangerous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and encompassing the whole spectrum, but with such a signature style,” Pascal said to Insider this year.

“To get to work with Ethan, whose movies I’ve seen since I was a little kid, who I’ve seen on stage off-Broadway, on Broadway, whose books I’ve read, whose plays I’ve seen him direct, and big movies, small movies, horror movies. It was really an incredible opportunity to go, learn, and to enjoy the experience of being on the level of people like that,” he added. “Taking it all in was incredible.”

Watch the trailer for “Strange Way of Life” above. Some details about the production team can be found below via the Cannes Film Festival website.

Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello presents Strange Way of Life, a film produced by El Deseo, written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar.

Starring Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández, Sara Sálamo, Ohiana Cueto, Daniela Medina.

The film is produced by Agustín Almodóvar with Esther García as executive producer and Bárbara Peiró, Diego Pajuelo and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as associate producers.

The music is composed by Alberto Iglesias.

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