Marie Gicquel / Photo credits: CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP 20:17 p.m., May 17, 2023, modified at 20:18 p.m., May 17, 2023

At the Cannes Film Festival, this Wednesday, May 17, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar attracted the spotlight with the presentation of one of the most "hype" projects of the selection, a half-hour short film with western looks, with Ethan Hawke and especially Pedro Pascal, the star of the series "The Last of Us".

This Wednesday, May 17, marked the first day of competition at the Cannes Film Festival with the presentation, in the evening, of the first French film, The Return of Catherine Corsini. A film that had been preceded by a controversy because of the working conditions on the set. The other highlight of the day was the presentation, out of competition, of a highly anticipated film, the latest short film by Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar. This half-hour western is called A Curious Way of Life.

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Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, the two main actors

Europe 1 was able to go to the screening of the film. The first striking point is that, as in all Pedro Almodovar films, everything starts with the sound of a guitar. This short film starts, in fact, with bossa nova in the middle of a desert of the American West. We quickly see two cowboys in Saint-Laurent costumes. This unclassifiable cinematographic object is also a showcase for the luxury house Saint-Laurent, which is embarking on film production.

The main actors are the Americans Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, the latter was revealed by the series The Last of Us. The two actors meet again 25 years after a torrid meeting washed down with wine, the first has become sheriff, the second father, but the time has come for them to live their love and taste the happiness of married life. The Madrid director offers this romantic western rather unexpected since we do not find too much his usual paw, but Pedro Almodovar confirms it: he wanted to have fun.

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Imagined as the sequel to the movie Brokeback Mountain

"The meaning of success, for me, is to do what you want and realize your dream project. And what seemed most interesting to me at this moment in my career was not to make a series, but a short film to explore desire," says Pedro Almodovar. Imagined as the sequel to the American film Brokeback Mountain, this surprising short film is released in theaters in August, enough to raise the temperature a little more.