Here's First Look at Pedro Almodóvar's New Queer Western
| 04/11/23
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Pedro Almodóvar’s "answer to Brokeback Mountain" is looking handsome and rugged!
In June of 2022, we learned that acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was working on a new, 30-minute short film about a pair of middle-aged gunslingers reuniting across the desert after 25 years apart.
We also learned that that film, titled Strange Way of Life, would star Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke in those main, gay, cowboy roles.
Almodóvar, who is gay, was approached to direct the 2005 Oscar-winning drama Brokeback Mountain, but turned down the project as he felt he wouldn’t have full freedom on it.
"I think Ang Lee made a wonderful movie, but I never believed that they would give me complete freedom and independence to make what I wanted," Almodóvar told IndieWire. "Nobody told me that — they said, 'You can do whatever you want,' but I knew that there was a limitation."
"The relation between these two guys is animalistic," he continued. "It was a physical relationship. 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*cking all the time."
Strange Way of Life is premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and now, we have the first look at the actors — and the official poster for the film.
\u201cFirst poster for Pedro Almod\u00f3var\u2019s queer Western short \u2018STRANGE WAY OF LIFE\u2019, starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke.\u201d— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) 1681232680
We are honestly loving the color on this poster! It really pops and brings it to life!
\u201cFirst look at Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke in Pedro Almod\u00f3var\u2019s queer Western short \u2018STRANGE WAY OF LIFE\u2019.\u201d— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) 1681232395
Strap in, cowboys!