Rotten Tomatoes has a great summary:
Pain and Glory tells of a series of reencounters experienced by Salvador Mallo, a film director in his physical decline. Some of them in the flesh, others remembered: his childhood in the 60s, when he emigrated with his parents to a village in Valencia in search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in the Madrid of the 80s, the pain of the breakup of that love while it was still alive and intense, writing as the only therapy to forget the unforgettable, the early discovery of cinema, and the void, the infinite void that creates the incapacity to keep on making films. Pain and Glory talks about creation, about the difficulty of separating it from one's own life and about the passions that give it meaning and hope. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it, and in that need he also finds his salvation.The film is layered and has so much beauty in it. There is no way to properly cover all the topics this movie touches upon. So, I would like to talk about one issue in particular; creative pursuits as partial antidotes for managing pain.
The main character of the film is in a lot of physical and mental pain. Among other issues, he is depressed, has chronic back pain, a drug addiction, insomnia, and severe tinnitus. All of these issues together have placed him in a constant state of mental and physical paralysis and he is unable to do much other than the bare minimum, such as eating, the occasional reading, and sleeping. He is no longer able to do what he loves, which is directing films.
Throughout the film, characters urge him to write and to apply himself. They push him to get back into doing what he loves. But, he constantly resists their pleas and is unable to see past his despair. However, as the film progresses, we slowly see his transformation and how his art starts to save both himself and another character (who is an actor also struggling with drug addiction). We see how a particular passion such as acting, writing, or directing is able to break through the haze of depression and paralysis. When everything else has failed, a creative pursuit is able to bring a person back from the pit of despair and give their life a sense of meaning. It is able to lift the person back up and allow them to experience some sense of normalcy and once again taste the sweetness of life and being alive.
Perhaps I was especially able to relate to this aspect of the film because in my own life, art and music have been my long-term methods of therapy and self care. They have gotten me through so many dark periods and continue to play such a stabilizing role in my life. They have taught me the importance of having passionate pursuits and how essential such things are for creating meaning and beauty in one's life.
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| Antonio Banderas plays Salvador Mallo in the film. |
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