Tropic Sprockets / The Human Voice and Strange Way of Life

By Ian Brockway

Pedro Almodovar, the auteur of psychological melodrama has two recent short films. [Showtimes and trailer at TropicCinema.com.] Both are engaging, colorful and compelling. It is no accident that Almodovar is a master of the craft.

First “The Human Voice” is anxious and intense with a Hitchcockian sense of intrigue. It is based on the play by Jean Cocteau.

Tilda Swinton stars as a female escort who is obsessed with a client. She obsesses on the color red. At one point, the woman buys an ax.

This is a portrait of a woman, alone and isolated who is nonetheless fierce with a spirit of iron. The woman seems to be barely contained in a well-furnished apartment. Like Alice in Wonderland, it appears as if she will grow exponentially, with her head, soaring right through the roof. She is a human powder keg. By the end, one wonders if there is another person on the other end of the phone call or if the woman is merely talking to herself.

Next “Strange Way of Life” subverts the old American westerns of John Ford.

Silva (Pedro Pascal), a mercenary, attempts to reunite with his former lover Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke). Though the two have a romantic connection, Silva’s son Joe (George Steane) is the prime suspect in the murder of Jake’s relative. The suspense lies in wondering what the sheriff is going to do and if attractions carry any weight. The film expresses the concept that gay cowboys are as natural and organic as blue open sky.

In this current age of escapist CGI cinema, Almodóvar proves again and again that he is one of the world’s finest filmmakers, portraying human characters as they are naturally, brimming with prismatic color and pathos.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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