---
title: "Pain and Glory"
year: 2019
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/pain-and-glory"
fi1m_id: "pain-and-glory"
imdb_id: "tt8291806"
tmdb_id: 519010
wikidata_id: "Q55609803"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 17
published: "2026-09-16"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:13.885451+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Pain and Glory (2019)

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar · 1h 54m · MPA R · Drama

## Identity

Pain and Glory

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/pain-and-glory
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** pain-and-glory
- **IMDb ID:** tt8291806
- **TMDB ID:** 519010
- **Wikidata ID:** Q55609803
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8291806/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/519010, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55609803

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 83 from 17 reviews

*In a sentence:* A director can lose the will to work without losing his eye for a good flat

> Pedro Almodóvar’s drama about an ailing filmmaker is patient, tender and worth the time, chiefly for Antonio Banderas’s restrained performance. The opening drifts, and the self-examination could be tougher, but its affection for people gets through.

## Synopsis

Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) is an ageing director struggling with depression, physical ailments and a dwindling ability to work. He wants to make films again, but pain keeps returning his attention to his body while recollections draw him away from the present. The story moves between his adult life and the childhood of Young Salvador (Asier Flores), with Jacinta (Penélope Cruz) among the figures from his past. Memories of family and relationships become part of Salvador’s effort to understand how he has reached this point, and what remains of his desire to create.

## Review

*Pain and Glory* is a moving drama about an ageing director whose ill health has made work difficult and the past hard to leave alone. Pedro Almodóvar gives this material time, sometimes more than it needs, but Antonio Banderas makes the patience worthwhile. His Salvador Mallo is depressed, physically uncomfortable and uncertain what remains of his ability to make films. It could become an extended request for sympathy. The performance keeps Salvador interesting even when he seems reluctant to be interested in anything himself.

Antonio Banderas plays the exhaustion without making every moment a demonstration of it. We were moved by his quietness in the conversations about Salvador’s past, because he lets us see how much another person’s presence asks of him. There is enough pride in the performance to keep the character from becoming merely pitiable, and enough vulnerability to make that pride look hard to maintain. We keep watching his face even when the film gives him little outwardly to do.

Cinematographer José Luis Alcaine keeps the colours rich even while Salvador struggles with illness, giving us something beyond another image of a man in decline. Antxón Gómez’s production design includes a recreation of Pedro Almodóvar’s flat, and the carefully arranged surroundings make Salvador’s retreat look unusually inviting. The rooms can seem too comfortable for the distress he describes. That is a useful complication in a film which could otherwise treat its protagonist’s unhappiness as the only thing worth looking at.

Teresa Font’s editing makes the passages between recollection and the present easy to follow, without hurrying us through either. The difficulty is that the early stretches establish Salvador’s weariness more effectively than they give the film anywhere to go. Alberto Iglesias’s score suits the reflective mood, although we sometimes wanted less encouragement to linger over Salvador’s sadness. The episodes remain clear throughout, even when the film is slow to give us a reason to follow one with another.

Penélope Cruz brings welcome directness to Jacinta, and the childhood material gives the film people to think about beyond the adult Salvador. She helps these recollections feel populated by people with lives of their own, even though we are seeing them through his memory. Her performance has a welcome matter-of-fact quality; she does not seem to be waiting for Salvador to decide what her place in his life means. That gives these passages more energy than the stretches spent attending to his ailments.

Films about filmmakers can assume an interest in the profession that the rest of us may not share. This one gives us physical discomfort, remembered relationships and the difficulty of imagining useful work ahead, none of which requires a knowledge of its director’s life. We do wish the writing sometimes pushed harder against Salvador’s account of himself. The film is generous to him, and there are stretches where a little less solicitude would have made him more interesting.

At 114 minutes, it asks for an unhurried evening, and the slow beginning is a real caveat. We recommend it warmly for Antonio Banderas, whose restraint makes Salvador worth spending time with even when his thoughts keep returning to himself. Give it time, but do not expect Salvador to repay the attention with much bustle.

*Fi1m score 84, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Pain and Glory, praising Almodóvar’s personal account of ageing, memory and the difficulty of making art when health falters. Antonio Banderas draws the strongest agreement: the reviews repeatedly single out his quiet, vulnerable performance as the ailing filmmaker, finding considerable feeling in his restraint. Praise also centres on the controlled use of colour, the movement between past and present, and the tenderness of the encounters with people from the director’s past.

The differences concern how involving this self-examination becomes, with responses ranging from deeply moved to distinctly reserved. The AV Club admires Banderas but finds the reckonings remote and unfocused, while The Telegraph considers the writing uneven, despite touching reunion scenes. The Hollywood Reporter is more resistant to the autobiographical approach, finding it self-regarding and chiefly rewarding for devotees. For most critics, however, the gentler storytelling makes the memories and reconciliations more affecting.

## Straight answers

**Is Pain and Glory worth watching?**

*Pain and Glory* is worth watching for anyone who can settle into an unhurried evening with an ailing filmmaker, and we scored it 84. Antonio Banderas gives a restrained performance that keeps Salvador interesting even when he is not interested in much himself. The opening drifts and the film is gentle on its protagonist, so viewers wanting bustle should look elsewhere.

**How long is Pain and Glory, and what is it rated?**

*Pain and Glory* runs 1h 54m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Pain and Glory in the US?**

*Pain and Glory* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Pain and Glory, and is it suitable for children?**

*Pain and Glory* is a UK 15 drama with no violence or frightening material to speak of; the certificate reflects adult themes rather than anything alarming. It concerns depression, chronic illness and remembered relationships, and it moves slowly. Children would find little to hold them, and it suits adults and older teenagers who want a patient, reflective film.

**How does Pain and Glory compare to The Souvenir?**

*Pain and Glory* and [*The Souvenir*](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir) are both slow, closely observed dramas about filmmakers, but they sit at opposite ends of a life. Almodóvar’s film watches an ageing director look back; Hogg’s follows a young woman learning through a damaging romance. The Souvenir has more danger and a rougher edge, while Pain and Glory is the warmer and more forgiving, sometimes to a fault.

**What should I watch after Pain and Glory?**

After *Pain and Glory*, try [*Wild Strawberries*](https://film.one/film/wild-strawberries) (1957, Fi1m 88): An ageing man’s memories receive patient attention, with considerably less comfort along the way. Then [*After Life*](https://film.one/film/after-life) (1998, Fi1m 85): Another gentle inquiry into which memories matter, and how films might preserve them; and [*The Souvenir*](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir) (2019, Fi1m 84): A young filmmaker’s painful self-education, told with a similarly exact attention to surroundings.

### Reviews we read (28)

- **Time Out**, Josep Lambies (5/5): The film is hailed as a gorgeous, humane journey into an ageing filmmaker’s soul and one of Almodóvar’s most autobiographical works. The critic singles out the poignant tapestry of recollections and Banderas’s haunted performance. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/pain-and-glory)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (90/100, inferred): Almodóvar is at his best, forging dazzling new paths while remaining completely himself in a dramatic rather than melodramatic autobiographical work. It concerns the creative impulse and the power of the past to revive and enlighten the present. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-10-02/pain-and-glory-pedro-almodovar-antonio-banderas-review)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Brian Tallerico (90/100, inferred): The film is a deeply personal and very moving work anchored by Antonio Banderas's best performance. It explores how pain and life shape art through an aging director's memories and reunions. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pain-and-glory-2019)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic praises this deeply personal autofictional work as bittersweet perfection and richly satisfying, highlighting Antonio Banderas's career-best performance as the stand-in for the director in crisis. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/25/pain-and-glory-review-pedro-almodovar-antonio-banderas-penelope-cruz)
- **Film Comment**, Manuel Yáñez Murillo (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Almodóvar’s most cohesive and confessional film yet, a heart-rending meditation on memory, autofiction, and the director’s own life and ailments. Banderas delivers a nuanced performance as the surrogate filmmaker Salvador, with the film balancing personal warmth against historical and medical pain through restrained, fluid storytelling. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-pain-glory/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (85/100, inferred): Almodóvar has made one of his richest and most sombre films, gathering obsessions in an autumnal tale of ailments, memory and truthtelling. The film revives its protagonist through the act of describing his fading illusions and mortal health. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/pain-and-glory-tells-autumnal-truths)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critics Pick): This remarkably mature metafiction explores the emotional scars underlying the director’s physical frailty with signature touches and a subtler authenticity. It rejects broad melodrama for direct confessional storytelling. [Read](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-pedro-almodovars-pain-and-glory-1203218880/)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein (85/100, inferred): The critic describes it as the gentlest and most emotionally naked movie Almodóvar has ever made, a confessional work that holds together with vulnerability and a simple, poignant closing image between mother and child that finally releases the tears. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2019/10/pain-and-glory-movie-review-pedro-almodvars-latest.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (4/4/5): Almodóvar delivers an exquisite, soulful self-portrait that builds a complex picture of a gifted but flawed artist. The critic highlights the film’s masterful handling of memory, addiction and late-career clarity. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/pain-and-glory)
- **The i Paper**, Nick Hasted (★★★★): The critic praises this masterfully understated meditation on outliving notoriety and health while still making art from memory. They highlight Banderas's atypically quiet, Cannes-winning performance as the washed-up director. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/pain-and-glory-review-pedro-almodovar-release-times-penelope-cruz-antonio-banderas-cannes-329508)
- **The Times** (★★★★): The critic calls it a beautiful and reflective work about an artist taking stock of his creativity and the pleasures of art, with strong performances and visual beauty throughout. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/pain-and-glory-review-antonio-banderas-and-pedro-almodovar-reunite-for-a-beautiful-and-reflective-work-wpfvjv3vr)
- **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (B-): The critic praises Banderas’ rich, gravity-filled performance as the aging director but finds the film relatively low on actual pain or glory, with low-key reckonings that feel disappointingly remote and unfocused despite tender moments and stylish direction. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/antonio-banderas-brings-what-pain-and-glory-he-can-to-p-1838668885)
- **The Telegraph** (3/5): The review finds Antonio Banderas deeply touching but calls the film an uneven effort in self-reflexive nostalgia, with writing that is banal in parts but lifts in key reunion scenes. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2019/05/17/pain-glory-antonio-banderas-deeply-touching-uneven-effort-almodovar/)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer: The critic describes it as a moving, meditative work of self-reflection and a major achievement, with Almodóvar turning inward. They single out Banderas's world-weary yet intimate performance and the film's beautiful control of colour, memory transitions and tenderness. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pain-and-glory/)
- **Evening Standard**, David Sexton: The critic calls the film delicious and perfectly poised, leaving viewers feeling better about the world. They single out Banderas's vulnerable, career-redefining performance and the film's many tender acts of reconciliation across time. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/pain-and-glory-review-a-perfect-reunion-lights-up-our-lives-a4219831.html)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn: The review calls it Almodóvar’s best movie in years and his most personal, with Antonio Banderas excelling as a version of the auteur in what comes closest to a memoir. It highlights the intimate, confessional quality of the semi-autobiographical work. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/pain-and-glory-review-pedro-almodovar-cannes-2019-1202140740/)
- **Screen Daily**: Almodóvar’s introspective film is seen as a thinly veiled deep dive into the director’s own life, with strong performances but a cautious distance that keeps the audience at arm’s length until a superbly acted core scene. The Cannes competition entry is noted for revisiting familiar themes through opiate-fuelled reverie. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/pain-and-glory-cannes-review/5138909.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Maria Delgado: The critic praises Almodóvar’s latest as a richly layered work that uses reminiscence to explore both personal history and contemporary Spanish politics. Banderas’s restrained performance as the ailing filmmaker is singled out as anchoring the film’s emotional and intellectual depth. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/pain-glory-review-pedro-almodovar-makes-art-form-out-reminiscence)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jonathan Holland: The critic sees the film as a thinly disguised autobiographical roundup of Almodóvar’s life and work that is exquisitely crafted and visually sumptuous but self-regarding and inward-looking. It is unlikely to be remembered fondly except by diehards, with strong performances and nostalgia for women and sexuality singled out amid its focus on pain over glory. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/pain-glory-review-1195284/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (NYT Critic’s Pick): Almodóvar’s sublime film circles around art as self-creation in a contemplative story of memory, loss and imagination. It is visually striking with an elegantly structured narrative and powerful restraint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/movies/pain-and-glory-review.html)
- **Total Film**: The critic finds it a fascinating, pensive addition to Almodóvar's oeuvre for aficionados, with superb work from Banderas in key scenes, though it covers too much familiar ground comfortably. They single out the recreation of the director's own apartment and the emotional payoff of past figures returning. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/pain-and-glory-a-film-pedro-almodovar-aficionados-will-find-much-to-obsess-over/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (9/10): Almodóvar's most autobiographical work is a tender, introspective portrait of an ageing filmmaker reflecting on personal pain, past relationships and creativity. The episodic structure, stunning visuals and Banderas's performance create a lush, enchanting experience that builds to a masterful conclusion. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/569042/pain-and-glory-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it Almodóvar’s most personal film yet, likening it to his own 8½, and praises Banderas for a career-best performance as the ailing director reflecting on his life. They single out the tender reunion scene with an old lover and the luminous supporting turn by Penélope Cruz. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/pain-and-glory-review-antonio-banderas-delivers-career-best-performance-in-pedro-almodovars-most-personal-film/)
- **Collider**, Gregory Ellwood (B+): The critic finds Pain and Glory to be Almodóvar’s most personal film yet but notes the first half feels arduous before Banderas opens up a new side to his character. It ultimately celebrates the director’s decision to disclose what he sees fit, ending on a glorious shot that reminds viewers life is a melodrama. [Read](https://collider.com/pain-and-glory-review-antonio-banderas-pedro-almodovar/)
- **Den of Geek**, Mark Harrison (4/5): The review highlights Almodóvar’s self-reflective portrait of a filmmaker confronting pain and memory, carried by Banderas’s career-best dramatic performance. It notes the film’s two halves united by its contemplative depiction of creativity and the past, though the structure feels slightly uneven. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/pain-and-glory-review-pedro-almod-var-s-vivid-self-portrait/)
- **Eye for Film**, Richard Mowe: Almodóvar's most personal film yet follows an ageing gay filmmaker confronting depression, ill health and creative decline through reflections on his past. Banderas delivers a stunning performance as the director's alter ego, with the film achieving a bitter-sweet tone through simplicity and emotional engagement. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pain-and-glory-2019-film-review-by-richard-mowe)
- **Film Stories**, Amanda Keats: Almodóvar delivers a poetic exploration of art, love, legacy and family through the story of an ageing director reflecting on his life and pain. The film excels in its attention to human connections, vivid colours and textures, and Banderas's raw, understated performance, though it takes time to find its stride. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/pain-and-glory-review/)
- **The Wrap**, Steve Pond: The critic describes it as a lovely, gentle reverie and a rapturous meditation on past and present that nourishes rather than provokes. They single out Banderas’ quiet, affecting performance as the weary director and the film’s mature introspection and impeccable visual style. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/pain-and-glory-film-review-antonio-banderas-plays-pedro-almodovar-sort-of/)

## Details

- **Director:** Pedro Almodóvar
- **Director:** Pedro Almodóvar
- **Screenplay:** Pedro Almodóvar
- **Cinematography:** José Luis Alcaine
- **Editor:** Teresa Font
- **Music:** Alberto Iglesias
- **Production design:** Antxón Gómez
- **Costume design:** Paola Torres
- **Producer:** Esther García, Agustín Almodóvar
- **Cast:** Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo; Asier Etxeandia as Alberto Crespo; Leonardo Sbaraglia as Federico Delgado; Nora Navas as Mercedes; Julieta Serrano as Old Jacinta; Penélope Cruz as Jacinta; César Vicente as Eduardo; Asier Flores as Young Salvador
- **Runtime:** 1h 54m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 4 October 2019
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $11 million
- **Box office:** $37 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEjFOkCKb3g

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, DE, ES, FI, FR, GB, IN, IT, JP, NL, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2020: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- APRECI Award for Best International Premiere 2019: APRECI Award for Best International Premiere (won)
- European Film Award for Best Actor 2019: European Film Award for Best Actor (won)
- European Film Award for Best Director 2019: European Film Award for Best Director (nominated)
- European Film Award for Best Film 2019: European Film Award for Best Film (nominated)
- European Film Award for Best Production Designer 2019: European Film Award for Best Production Designer (won)
- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2019: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (nominated)
- European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film 2019: European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Wild Strawberries* (1957), Fi1m 88: An ageing man’s memories receive patient attention, with considerably less comfort along the way. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-strawberries.md)
- *The Long Day Closes* (1992): Childhood remembered through rooms, faces and cinema, with feeling carried by the images.
- *After Life* (1998), Fi1m 85: Another gentle inquiry into which memories matter, and how films might preserve them. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/after-life.md)
- *The Souvenir* (2019), Fi1m 84: A young filmmaker’s painful self-education, told with a similarly exact attention to surroundings. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir.md)
- *8½* (1963), Fi1m 91: For another director in difficulty, though the memories arrive with rather more commotion. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/812.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/pain-and-glory