
3.5/5 stars
At 76, Pedro Almodovar is in a state of self-reflection – at least that is what you may feel after watching Bitter Christmas, the 24th film of the Spanish director’s career.

3.5/5 stars
At 76, Pedro Almodovar is in a state of self-reflection – at least that is what you may feel after watching Bitter Christmas, the 24th film of the Spanish director’s career.
Receiving its international premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s main competition, Bitter Christmas is a meta movie about the creative process, the film industry and the relationship between life and cinema.
It is also terrain that Almodovar has explored before, and more successfully, in 2019’s Pain and Glory, which starred Antonio Banderas as an ageing filmmaker.
Here, Raul (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is writing his latest script, Bitter Christmas. Initially, we see little of him; rather, it is his characters and story that we follow.
Raul’s protagonist is Elsa (Barbara Lennie), a cult director with two features to her name who is now working in commercials. She is struggling with ill health (migraines, mostly), a creative impasse and a turbulent personal life that includes her friend Patricia (Victoria Luengo, also known as Vicky Luengo), who believes her husband is having an affair.
Few items of clothing have sparked more debate in the music industry in recent months than the babydoll. The short, floaty nightgown has long been…
Love is in the air – and undercover – in this month’s K-drama casting announcements, which find Korea’s top stars circling some novel twists on…
Former Hongkonger Michelle Hale was 14 when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the body does not produce enough…
Cooking a fantastic Christmas spread is never easy in Hong Kong when few of us have ovens suitable for toasting bread, let alone cooking an…
What is success? Three accomplished women in Hong Kong gave their take on the question at a recent event hosted jointly by Chanel and the…
Say ‘Hi!’ via Telegram today: t.me/SGBuzz