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Dolor y gloria
La película más personal de Pedro Almodóvar. El libro más repleto de extras.
Salvador Mallo es un veterano director de cine aquejado de múltiples dolencias, pero el peor de sus males es la incapacidad para seguir rodando. La mezcla de medicamentos y drogas hace que Salvador pase la mayor parte del día postrado. Este estado de duermevela le traslada a una época de su vida que nunca visitó como narrador: su infancia en los años sesenta, cuando emigró con sus padres a un pueblo de Valencia en busca de prosperidad. También se le vuelve a aparecer su primer amor adulto, ya en el Madrid de los ochenta, y el dolor que supuso la ruptura.
Salvador se refugia en la escritura como única terapia para olvidar lo inolvidable. Ese ejercicio lo devuelve al temprano descubrimiento del cine, cuando las películas se proyectaban sobre un muro encalado, al aire libre, con olor a pis, a jazmín y a brisa de verano. De nuevo, descubrirá que el cine puede ser su única salvación frente al dolor, la ausencia y el vacío.
Esta edición contiene, además del guion original de la película (que incluye escenas que no se vieron en el cine), un sustancioso apartado de comentarios sobre su proceso creativo y el rodaje, firmado por el propio Almodóvar, y un precioso epílogo de Gustavo Martín Garzo. Además, está profusamente ilustrada a todo color con fotografías y fragmentos del storyboard. Un libro perfecto para todos los amantes del cine y la cultura.
Salvador Mallo es un veterano director de cine aquejado de múltiples dolencias, pero el peor de sus males es la incapacidad para seguir rodando. La mezcla de medicamentos y drogas hace que Salvador pase la mayor parte del día postrado. Este estado de duermevela le traslada a una época de su vida que nunca visitó como narrador: su infancia en los años sesenta, cuando emigró con sus padres a un pueblo de Valencia en busca de prosperidad. También se le vuelve a aparecer su primer amor adulto, ya en el Madrid de los ochenta, y el dolor que supuso la ruptura.
Salvador se refugia en la escritura como única terapia para olvidar lo inolvidable. Ese ejercicio lo devuelve al temprano descubrimiento del cine, cuando las películas se proyectaban sobre un muro encalado, al aire libre, con olor a pis, a jazmín y a brisa de verano. De nuevo, descubrirá que el cine puede ser su única salvación frente al dolor, la ausencia y el vacío.
Esta edición contiene, además del guion original de la película (que incluye escenas que no se vieron en el cine), un sustancioso apartado de comentarios sobre su proceso creativo y el rodaje, firmado por el propio Almodóvar, y un precioso epílogo de Gustavo Martín Garzo. Además, está profusamente ilustrada a todo color con fotografías y fragmentos del storyboard. Un libro perfecto para todos los amantes del cine y la cultura.
- GenresFilm
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
5 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Pedro Almodóvar
42 books192 followersPedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular songs, irreverent humor, strong colors and glossy décor. Desire, passion, family and identity are among Almodóvar’s most prevalent themes. His films enjoy a worldwide following and he has become a major figure on the stage of world cinema.
He founded Spanish film production company El Deseo S.A. with his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar who has produced almost all of Pedro’s films.
Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular songs, irreverent humor, strong colors and glossy décor. Desire, passion, family and identity are among Almodóvar’s most prevalent themes. His films enjoy a worldwide following and he has become a major figure on the stage of world cinema.
He founded Spanish film production company El Deseo S.A. with his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar who has produced almost all of Pedro’s films.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 4, 2020
Se ha cumplido más menos un año desde que vi por primera vez Dolor y Gloria, para mi es de esas películas que mientras ves sientes que no logras agarrar todo lo que te va provocando. Leer el libro, con el guión y el contexto que da Almodóvar, a mi como fanS (así en plural), hacen que sea una experiencia deliciosa, como comer un postre, zampado de una vez, porque este libro es así, para devorarlo.
November 8, 2023
Descubrí que leer los guiones de Pedro completa la experiencia de ver la película 🎥
March 23, 2022
un guió increïble i uns textos molt bonics que l'acompanyen... s'haurà de comprar el de madres paralelas tmb...
August 2, 2025
Pain and Glory, written and directed by Pedro Almodovar
8.5 out of 10
For some strange reason, this cinephile is not overwhelmed by the selection for the 2020 Golden Globes, with the notable exception of Parasite – which is indeed surely the main reason why the other nominees are so unrewarding, because when compared with this magnum opus, they pale and seem to lack the power, originality, complexity, challenge of the South Korean masterpiece – from The joker, through Dolemite is My Name to Knives Out and finishing with Dolor y Gloria, the acclaimed Spanish production.
Pain and glory has been nominated not only for two Golden Globes, for Best Motion Picture – foreign Language and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama – but more importantly, apart from nominations and prizes won among other places at the European Film Awards, this movie has been short listed for the most important cinematic award in the world, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won for Best Actor.
Furthermore, the Metascore for this film is a wondrous 88 out of 100, with Variety stating that this is “A mature work of meticulously tuned meta-fiction…” and other critics writing admiring reviews of the motion picture…
However, this viewer has if not the opposite view, wrong as it evidently is, when placed against so much appreciation and “Glory”, at least a take in which this is not so exhilarating, it maybe borders self-indulgence and that could be sustained by the signature of the filmmaker, who writes at the end that this is a film by “Almodovar”, without Pedro, which could be a sign of modesty and self-effacement, but for the undersigned it signals the fact that the writer-director has entered the gallery of those who would be known by one single name, like Madonna, Sting and a few others.
The story of the main character, Salvador Mallo aka highly acclaimed Antonio Banderas, winner at Cannes and maybe at the Golden Globes, is emotionally compelling, if your heart is in the right place, which in case of this cinephile it surely is not, for he has found so much to disengage with in this otherwise universally honored work.
It could be – perhaps it is – inspired by elements from the life of the real life creator, Almodovar as we may have to use it from now on, for the protagonist used to be a writer who had enjoyed success, before retiring, suffering from various ailments – by the way, this seemed exaggerated, in the sense that yes, very often we have the disease of the hero mentioned – Walter White of Breaking Bad fame comes to mind – but to give so many details of muscles, tendonitis – if it was mentioned – headaches, the spine, the blockage within the neck, the many pills, the various conditions seem to transfer the feature into a documentary on the diseases of the human body, for sizeable segments …
The relationships that are revisited, if not restored, between the hero and two men that have been a crucial part of his past, after so many decades can be seen from two points of view- evidently, most critics and judges at festivals and the Golden Globes have been enthused, but others may find this rather artificial and or bizarre, given that the conditions seem to be improper.
For this viewer, Pain and Glory has recalled the recent creations of another master, Woody Allen, who, just like Almodovar (without Pedro from now on it seems), has had glorious divine masterpieces…Manhattan, Annie Hall and so many others, but in his late years, although he has had recognition for the likes of Blue Jasmine, most of the work has not been at the level – granted, it is stratospheric – of the early, Olympic years…
8.5 out of 10
For some strange reason, this cinephile is not overwhelmed by the selection for the 2020 Golden Globes, with the notable exception of Parasite – which is indeed surely the main reason why the other nominees are so unrewarding, because when compared with this magnum opus, they pale and seem to lack the power, originality, complexity, challenge of the South Korean masterpiece – from The joker, through Dolemite is My Name to Knives Out and finishing with Dolor y Gloria, the acclaimed Spanish production.
Pain and glory has been nominated not only for two Golden Globes, for Best Motion Picture – foreign Language and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama – but more importantly, apart from nominations and prizes won among other places at the European Film Awards, this movie has been short listed for the most important cinematic award in the world, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won for Best Actor.
Furthermore, the Metascore for this film is a wondrous 88 out of 100, with Variety stating that this is “A mature work of meticulously tuned meta-fiction…” and other critics writing admiring reviews of the motion picture…
However, this viewer has if not the opposite view, wrong as it evidently is, when placed against so much appreciation and “Glory”, at least a take in which this is not so exhilarating, it maybe borders self-indulgence and that could be sustained by the signature of the filmmaker, who writes at the end that this is a film by “Almodovar”, without Pedro, which could be a sign of modesty and self-effacement, but for the undersigned it signals the fact that the writer-director has entered the gallery of those who would be known by one single name, like Madonna, Sting and a few others.
The story of the main character, Salvador Mallo aka highly acclaimed Antonio Banderas, winner at Cannes and maybe at the Golden Globes, is emotionally compelling, if your heart is in the right place, which in case of this cinephile it surely is not, for he has found so much to disengage with in this otherwise universally honored work.
It could be – perhaps it is – inspired by elements from the life of the real life creator, Almodovar as we may have to use it from now on, for the protagonist used to be a writer who had enjoyed success, before retiring, suffering from various ailments – by the way, this seemed exaggerated, in the sense that yes, very often we have the disease of the hero mentioned – Walter White of Breaking Bad fame comes to mind – but to give so many details of muscles, tendonitis – if it was mentioned – headaches, the spine, the blockage within the neck, the many pills, the various conditions seem to transfer the feature into a documentary on the diseases of the human body, for sizeable segments …
The relationships that are revisited, if not restored, between the hero and two men that have been a crucial part of his past, after so many decades can be seen from two points of view- evidently, most critics and judges at festivals and the Golden Globes have been enthused, but others may find this rather artificial and or bizarre, given that the conditions seem to be improper.
For this viewer, Pain and Glory has recalled the recent creations of another master, Woody Allen, who, just like Almodovar (without Pedro from now on it seems), has had glorious divine masterpieces…Manhattan, Annie Hall and so many others, but in his late years, although he has had recognition for the likes of Blue Jasmine, most of the work has not been at the level – granted, it is stratospheric – of the early, Olympic years…
August 25, 2020
Siempre resulta nutritivo que un maestro te preste sus conocimientos. En este libro, Pedro nos ofrece su guion, sus notas personales, escenas inéditas, fragmentos del storyboard. Además, Gustavo Martín Garzo le homenajea en un epílogo bello y sublime, que enlaza y resalta la esencia y los secretos que enhebran la película.
March 23, 2023
I get it why some actors say that they agreed to do the film as soon as they read the script and realised how special the movie would be. This reads like a true masterpiece.
May 24, 2025
Me encantaría leer más guiones de Almodóvar, esta es una de mis películas favoritas y es maravilloso poder recorrerla según la escribió
July 8, 2020
Un libro impecable que contiene todo el guión de la película y elementos adicionales como páginas del storyboard original. Ojalá un libro solo con el storyboard porqué es una pasada!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews