A ravishing queer short western from the master of black comedy, Pedro Almodóvar, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal.
A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake (Hawke). Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva (Pascal), the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship….
“The strange way of life referred in the title alludes to the famous fado by Amalia Rodrigues, whose lyrics suggest that there is no stranger existence than the one that is lived by turning your back on your own desires.” – Pedro Almodóvar
“Premiering in a Special Screening slot in Cannes, Strange Way of Life (Extraña forma de vida) runs a skimpy half-hour but packs that fleet running time with greater depth of feeling and evocative atmosphere than most directors manage in a full feature.” (The Hollywood Reporter)