Featured Photo by ImDb
Story by Larry Rincon
“Years ago, you asked me what two men could do living together on a ranch. I’ll answer you now. They can look after one another, protect each other. They can keep each other company.”
— Silva in “A Strange Way of Life”
In May of this year, the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival took place. While there are different categories for films to compete in, there are also special screenings and out of competition screenings.
One short film part of the special screenings is Pedro Aldodmóvar’s “A Strange Way of Life”, and while I was not able to see this short film at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie had its theatrical release in the United States this past week.
It is a 30 minute Spanish Western drama starring Ethan Hawke as a small desert town sheriff named Jake and Pedro Pascal as Silva, a man from Jake’s past. The two are reunited 25 years later when Silva’s son, Joe, is the suspected murderer of Jake’s brother’s widow. In their short reunion, the two deal with feelings lingering from their two months in Mexico.
As someone who does not like Westerns, this short film was far better than I could have hoped for. Hawke and Pascal are two of the most talented actors in Hollywood, and they did not disappoint. Their performances carried across the emotions that their characters were holding onto during their time apart.
In fact, after the film finished I wished I had more to read or watch in order to understand more of the internal personal thoughts and emotions of Jake and Silva. There were pieces of dialogue that give you crumbs of information about the kind of individuals they were during their time apart.
Jake at some point had an affair with his brother’s wife, and that makes Silva question if Jake loved her more than him. This could have served as a character motive for Jake to arrest Joe. However, Jake’s entire argument for his immense interest in arresting Joe himself is that he promised his brother to watch over his wife. I do like this motive though since it brings in a lot more internal conflict for Jake’s character.
In all honesty, this short film reminds me a little bit of “Brokeback Mountain”. I never saw the movie, but I did read the short story that the film is based on. The two share a similar base story. Two men have an intense relationship that follows them into their future. However, the two are still very distinct.
What I liked about “A Strange Way of Life” is that neither character felt ashamed of their relationship back in Mexico. Jake kept Silva at a distance because he felt like Silva did not care enough to see him when Silva’s Ranch was some distance from town. Silva on the other hand did not know how Jake would react if he went to see him, not to mention the affair as well.
With these feelings and the situation that brought them back together, they both had to decide between their time of passion and their duties as a Sheriff and as a father.
“Brokeback Mountain” was a far more tragic story with more drama. I think “A Strange Way of Life” was a better depiction of a complex romantic relationship between two men who have reasons to not want to care for the other.
“A Strange Way of Life” has beautiful cinematography and well composed music. If you are looking for something short yet still complex this short film is perfect. With a great cast and a talented director, you should watch this movie at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville while it is still there.
