Monday Morning Maybe

Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

Poster for Pain and Glory

Pain and Glory

Seen it?

2019 | 114 min | Drama

Friday Night Flick

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (96% on Rotten Tomatoes), it collected a shelf of major awards and audiences rate it highly (7.4 out of 10). Make plans for this one.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for anyone who loves a strong drama. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood
Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 54 min.
What might put you off
  • Rated R: expect drug use and sex.
  • It's in Spanish, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
  • Audiences were cooler on it than critics.

Salvador Mallo, a filmmaker in the twilight of his career, remembers his life: his mother, his lovers, the actors he worked with. The sixties in a small village in Valencia, the eighties in Madrid, the present, when he feels an immeasurable emptiness, facing his mortality, the incapability of continuing filming, the impossibility of separating creation from his own life. The need of narrating his past can be his salvation.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 on Metacritic

  • AudiencesStrong

    7.4 out of 10

  • AwardsVery strong

    Won 2 Cannes awards: Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor, Cannes Soundtrack Award: Best Actor. Also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, 1 BAFTA and 2 Critics' Choice Awards. Plus 33 other awards.

  • Box office & staying powerSolid

    $37 million worldwide on a $11 million budget

  • Buzz & cultural impactBelow par

    About 95K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

More like this

Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks

Cast & crew

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

  • Antonio BanderasSalvador Mallo
  • Asier EtxeandiaAlberto Crespo
  • Leonardo SbaragliaFederico Delgado
  • Nora NavasMercedes
  • Julieta SerranoOld Jacinta
  • Penélope CruzJacinta
  • César VicenteEduardo
  • Asier FloresYoung Salvador
  • Cecilia RothZulema
  • Susi SánchezPious Woman from Paterna