Entertainment
Pedro Almodóvar's first book, like his movies, blends reality and fiction: 'A fragmentary autobiography'
Fall Preview Books
The Last Dream
By Pedro Almodóvar, translated by Frank Wynne
HarperVia: 240 pages, $26
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When Pedro Almodóvar was a young boy, his mother would read and translate letters for their illiterate neighbors. One day, Almodóvar discovered that his mother was embellishing, even fabricating, what was in them.
With the irate purity of an 8-year-old, he confronted her and asked why she told one neighbor that the author of the letter had written movingly about her grandmother, a person not even mentioned in the communication.
“Did you see how happy she was?” his mother responded.
“That was a very good lesson for me even if I didn’t know it at that moment,” the Spanish filmmaker recalled in a recent video interview. Resplendent in a deep blue shirt, he was promoting his first book, a mix of short stories and personal essays called “The Last Dream.” The title piece is an essay about his mother that was written after her death.
“I soon realized reality needs fiction to make life easier and more livable,” he says, adding that it informed his stories and later his screenwriting. He always blended reality and fiction, telling personal stories without being beholden to a documentary-style reciting of the facts. (His mother also got Almodóvar a job teaching young men to read and write, which became a scene in “Pain and Glory.”)
Those stories have fueled a career that includes an original screenplay Oscar for “Talk to Her,” plus noms for his films “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “All About My Mother” and “Pain and Glory.” Along the way, Almodóvar, whose movies are renowned for their vibrant color palettes and dynamic soundtracks, became an icon in the LGBTQ+ community for capturing the love — and the complex nuances — of queer characters and helped make Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz into stars.
Almodóvar’s book — out Sept. 24 — came about accidentally. He has always been a storyteller and started writing as a teen. “But then, as I grew older, I started experimenting with Super 8 films and discovered I had more talent for expressing my stories with images. I was better at writing for the movies than as a fiction writer.”
But he always wrote, even if he stuck the short stories and essays in a drawer. “I wrote because I wanted to,” he says. “I didn’t think about the stories being published or made into movies; I just felt the necessity of writing it.”
Eventually, his assistant, Lola García, pulled out some of the old folders and suggested that Almodóvar consider publishing them. As he notes in the introduction, he has never written a memoir, allowed for an authorized biography or even formally kept a diary. But Almodóvar found, on reading the pieces he has collected, that they amount to “a fragmentary autobiography, incomplete and a little cryptic.”
Of course, most of his films are so personal that they fill in many of those gaps. “My stories and movies are all mixed together in a kind of indivisible manner,” he says.
You might expect a director publishing his first book to stick to the writing but Almodóvar continually returns to the world of film in our conversation. He talks about having “always dreamed of writing a great novel” but finally accepting that he wouldn’t be able to while still hoping to at least write a “good and entertaining one,” then veers off into the difference between writing novels and scripts. He points to Cormac McCarthy’s screenplay for Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor,” starring Cruz, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt.
“I love McCarthy’s novels, and they’re so full of dialogue so you immediately think they’d be a good script, but the rules for one are very different from the other, and it doesn’t mean the novelist can be a good screenwriter,” he says, then goes on to discuss Joseph and Herman Mankiewicz, Raymond Chandler and the ways writers do or do not adapt to Hollywood.
He also answers one question about his stories with a long explanation about how a car accident in “All About My Mother” is both an homage to John Cassavetes’ “Opening Night” and also deeply personal for him. “The movies I see, the things I read, they all become part of my own experience,” he says, “so there are many scenes in my movies that reference other movies.”
He also notes that the first story in his book, “The Visit,” later became the inspiration for his 2004 movie “Bad Education.” But it’s far from a straightforward adaptation. While the story opens with a classic Almodóvar flourish — a young woman flamboyantly dressed like Marlene Dietrich saunters through a small town before stopping at a Catholic school where she forces a showdown with the headmaster — and finishes with a dramatic plot twist, the film, with its multilayered meta examination of storytelling, is far more ambitious.
While “Bad Education” still condemns the church and the priests who sexually molested young boys and got away with it, that’s not the focal point. and the priests are even somewhat humanized.
“I wrote the story in the ’70s, and I can see my anger,” he says. “I was still furious in 2000, and I wanted to talk about the abuse but I was less interested in making an anticlerical movie than in talking about the origin of creativity and creation and how far people are willing to take a lie or a fiction. I was much more interested in sort of mixing all the different realities, including my own reality of being a filmmaker, as part of the story.”
Other stories, like “Too Many Gender Swaps,” aren’t directly connected to a specific movie, but he says they share thematic interests with his films. “You can see the origins of ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’ and ‘All About My Mother’ in there,” he says.
Almodóvar notes that while he is very much still the same person who wrote all these stories across the decades, he is also very different. “Back then, I could spend the whole night in a disco, drinking and dancing and then in the morning go straight to work,” he says. “But there’s a moment [when] you have to choose between excitement and health. I decided to be healthy, to work more than party.”
While he gave up partying, his health has remained an issue — his spine and heart conditions are central to “Pain and Glory.” (He‘s had to have spinal fusion, which immobilized part of his spine.)
“Now, I just write and make movies,” he says. This year, he’ll release his first English-language feature, “The Room Next Door,” starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. “My excitement now comes from my work. This means that I’m condemned to keep on making movies. The only thing now is whether they are good or not.”
Movie Reviews
Bandar Movie Review: Bobby Deol roars in Anurag Kashyap’s unsettling legal thriller that refuses to spoon-feed
Name: Bandar
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, Jitendra Joshi, Raj B Shetty
Writer: Sudip Sharma, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot:
Bandar follows Sameer Mehra’s character, essayed by Bobby Deol, a fading star who is desperately clinging to his past glory. Just as he attempts to rebuild his life and finds solace in a new relationship, his world comes crashing down. A former girlfriend files a heinous allegation against him, dragging him into a vicious, high-profile legal battle. Written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the film moves away from standard Bollywood courtroom setups. Instead, it dives straight into the murky waters of social media trials, public perception, and a sluggish judicial system where the truth gets buried under layers of gray.
What works:
Known for his chaotic energy, Anurag Kashyap takes a remarkably mature and controlled approach here. He avoids sensationalizing a highly sensitive topic, choosing instead to focus on the psychological claustrophobia of the protagonist. The prison sequences are exceptionally well-shot. They create a suffocating, raw atmosphere that makes you feel the weight of the character’s confinement. The script successfully avoids preachy, black-and-white monologues. It bravely forces the audience to confront their own biases regarding modern-day public trials and the digital judge-and-jury culture.
What doesn’t:
Clocking in at nearly two hours and twenty minutes, Bandar feels heavily weighed down in the second half. The narrative stretches thin, and a few subplots demand too much patience, making you wish for a tighter edit. The film stubbornly refuses to take a definitive moral stance or offer a neat resolution. While film enthusiasts might appreciate the complexity, mainstream viewers looking for a clear-cut ending or emotional payoff might walk away feeling detached and frustrated.
Performances:
- Bobby Deol is the beating heart of this film. Stripping away the massive macho swagger and menacing villainy of his recent hits, he delivers a deeply vulnerable, understated performance. He plays Samar with a mix of arrogance, confusion, and raw helplessness, proving his immense range.
- Sanya Malhotra anchors her screen time with her trademark reliability, turning in a grounded and impactful performance.
- Saba Azad and Sapna Pabbi excel in their respective roles, bringing genuine nuance to characters that could have easily been sidelined.
- Jitendra Joshi is an absolute scene-stealer, commanding your attention every single time he steps into the frame.
- Indrajith Sukumaran and Raj B Shetty are absolute show stealers with their raw acting.
Final Verdict:
Bandar is an unsettling, morally complex thriller that refuses to spoon-feed its audience. It isn’t a comfortable watch, nor does it try to be. While the sluggish pacing in the second half prevents it from being an absolute masterpiece, it is worth a watch for Bobby Deol’s spectacular acting reinvention and Anurag Kashyap’s gritty, thought-provoking storytelling.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Pinkvilla. No statement in this article is intended to defame, harm, or malign any individual or entity.
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Kathy Hilton will no longer be the grand marshal of West Hollywood’s pride parade.
The city and WeHo Pride on Wednesday released a joint statement, announcing that “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star would no longer serve as the Grand Marshal Icon for the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade. The event is scheduled for Sunday.
“After thoughtful discussions, the City of West Hollywood, the WeHo Pride production team, and Kathy Hilton have determined that the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade will not designate a Grand Marshal Icon honoree,” read the statement.
The decision comes less than a week after Hilton was announced. That May 28 announcement was met with swift backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and allies, who called out Hilton’s ties to President Trump and alleged MAGA-leaning politics. Critics also cited accusations that the socialite had used a homophobic slur while on a trip with other cast members of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” an action she has previously denied.
In their joint statement, West Hollywood and the WeHo Pride team expressed their appreciation for “the respectful and sincere dialogue” around both the event and the “role and significance” of Pride honorees.
“The City of West Hollywood has always believed that Pride belongs to the community,” the joint statement said. “Since its earliest days, Pride has served as both a celebration and a platform for activism, visibility, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equality, dignity, and justice for LGBTQ+ people. … These conversations reflect the passion people have for WeHo Pride and underscore the importance of ensuring that WeHo Pride continues to honor the history, values, and diverse voices of the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a statement, Hilton expressed gratitude for being considered for grand marshal and reaffirmed her commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and causes.
“My reason for wanting to be involved in this year’s WeHo Pride weekend was simple: to celebrate, support, and share in the joy of a community that means a great deal to so many people,” Hilton said. “Pride is, and always will be, about celebrating and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices, experiences, and achievements. … My support for the community and WeHo Pride is unwavering.”
She also mentioned several queer advocacy organizations and events she has supported over the years, including GLAAD, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Dr. Mathilde Krim, God’s Love We Deliver and Project Angel Food.
The latest Pride-related dust-up follows the abrupt cancellation of the Long Beach Pride Festival in May. The city’s Pride Parade took place as planned.
Both snafus have occurred as conservative politicians and advocates continue to attack LGBTQ+ rights and visibility nationwide. Some Republican governors have even pushed for conservative alternatives to Pride month festivities. A recent Gallup poll has found that after years of steady gains, support for marriage equality and same-sex relationships has slipped, particularly among Republicans.
Movie Reviews
Movie Review: Travolta’s “Propeller: One-Way Night Coach” is One for the Ages — All Ages
Back in the good ol’days — the ’90s — John Travolta would love to get off the topic of “Michael,” “Pulp Fiction” or “Get Shorty” in interviews with film journalists like me and regale us with how utterly besotted he had been with his first flying experience, how that drove his passion for piloting and buying planes and airfield-adjacent luxury houses.
He didn’t even seem to mind having to move house when this or that development balked at him flying his Boeing 707 out of there on the way to locations.
Travolta would tell any journalist who asked that he was writing a kid-friendly book, “Propeller: One Way Night Coach,” based on his first flights as a child in old propeller driven airliners — cheap red-eye overnight treks with too many connections for your average jet age traveller to tolerate.
I remember picking up the book when it came out later in the ’90s — at an airport gift shop — and thinking “Well, that’s as cute as I figured.”
And now, decades later and trapped in the B-movie hell of his post “Gotti” career, Travolta’s turned that cute book into the most delightful, fanciful and colorful bon bon of a movie.
“One Way Night Coach” is a child’s fantasy of flight and flying the way it used to be — with pristine, uncrowded, futuristic airports, an early ’60s era of jets and prop planes with over-uniformed stewardesses in white gloves, the days “Back before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and jet off to Raleigh-Durham,” as Sideshow Bob memorably sneered on “The Simpsons’.”
It’s a fictionalized account of Travolta’s childhood about an only child (at least two Travolta siblings have bit parts in this movie) of a never-made-it/never-will actress/single-mom (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) who indulges her aviation-obsessed eight-year-old with a cheap cross-country overnight flight.
Little Jeff (Clark Shotwell) will revel in almost every Idlewild to Pittsburgh to Dayton to Chicago to Kansas City to Denver and Los Angeles minute. He strolls into the cockpit to meet pilots, charms the stewardesses and checks out the sleeping bunks on the TWA Lockheed Super Constellation, loving even the delays if not the Chicken Cordon Bleu he’s offered on legs of the journey that offer a meal.
And as he’s an observant child, he comments (Travolta narrates) on his 50ish mother’s vamping and posing, her choice of cigarettes (Newports) and drinks, the solo traveling men whose attention she pursues and earns.
“I was her best audience,” adult Jeff remembers of the mother who’d read him plays as bedtime stories and delusionally hopes that this trip to Los Angeles might be her “big break” even though she’s pushing 50.
“Hollywood called,” she’d explain about their overnight cheap flight arrangements to ticket agents and crew. “They told me to take the next flight!”
At every turn, Jeff meets or sees kindness — stewardesses who indulge his many questions and bump them up to first class on the mostly-empty planes, a captain who fixes his toy model of a Constellation, a mentally ill flyer who flips out but is calmed by a flight attendant who isn’t overworked and frazzled in jet-powered tin-can jammed with Joe and Jane Sweatsocks who think nothing of traveling in their pajamas.
Normally, I cringe at pictures this reliant on voice-over narration. I recoil from stars who populate their picture with Sandler etc. offspring. But “Propeller” is unfailingly sweet and never cloying.
Sure, it’s fictionalized. But if you’ve followed Travolta’s life and career, a lot of him is in this — his raptoruous engagement with flying, an indulged child who developed a taste for fine food and creature comforts, a mother who was his guiding star as an actor.
I get why there are less adoring reviews than mine floating around “Propeller.” It’s unfailingly sweet. Mom’s man-hunting is seriously dated. This TWA tale is decorated with Gershwin’s majestic “Rhapsody in Blue” — United Airlines’ signature tune. And Travolta’s been around long enough for recent generations to come up and not feel a connection to the “Saturday Night Fever/Get Shorty” star whose career has fallen off and life has been visited by too much tragedy.
But I’d hate to be seated next to anybody who doesn’t appreciate this adorable, pristine and nearly perfect aviation fantasy on any flight, much less an overnight one.
Rating: TV-PG
Cast: Clark Shotwell, Kelly Eviston-Quinnett, Ellen Travolta, Ella Beau Travolta, Olga Hoffmann and John Travolta.
Credits: Scripted and directed by John Travolta, based on his book. An Apple TV+ release.
Running time: 1:01
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