Strange Way of Life

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1:07

Strange Way of Life

R

2023

31m

Western

LGBTQ+

Short

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

98 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, 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.

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Critics Consensus

A tantalizing glimpse of the bond between two people, the well-acted Strange Way of Life adds a brief but still rewarding chapter to Pedro Almodóvar's filmography.

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Craig Mathieson

The Age (Australia)

08/08/2024

The half-hour running time feels right -- there wasn’t a feature in this mix of the arch and the melancholic, but the short suffices.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

11/01/2023

It is so cool to see even bite-sized Pedro Almodóvar.

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Keith Uhlich

(All (Parentheses)) (Substack)

10/27/2023

Primo dom bottom energy from both Pedros.

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Cameron Ritter

Geek Vibes Nation

07/19/2025

6/10

Strange Way of Life is a beautifully shot, narratively uneven story that puts the majority of its weight on Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal’s shoulders. While they are more than up to the task, they can’t quite get past the humdrum dialogue.

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Francesca Steele

iNews.co.uk

12/11/2024

3/5

It is in some ways an old-fashioned sort of Western, stripped of popular Spaghetti Western-style violence, a strong moral heart beating beneath the chaps and Stetsons.

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Jericho Tadeo

MovieWeb

07/12/2024

The film offers its share of dirt and denim, brute force and fist-fighting, and a nerve-wracking stand-off. It plays by the classic genre's rules, for sure, but it ultimately suggests that there's still storytelling territory waiting to be explored.

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Jonathan F

10/29/2023

The movie told an engaging story and the lead actors were excellent. I wish it had been longer so we would know how things played out after the last scene.

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Naomi

10/17/2023

You know it's well done when it's short, but they still surprise you

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Miguel B

10/15/2023

Not my favorite short.

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James A

10/14/2023

Interesting short slice of a bigger story. Acting was really good too.

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Francis S

10/14/2023

I knew it was a short film but it left me wanting to understand the character's more. There is a lot to unpack. A huge subject matter that deserved more time to develop. Other people have complex relationships why not two men?

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andrew c

10/13/2023

Very ascetic. Except for the memory sequence. Diaz script pretty heavy-handed too literary. Wish Manu Rios had a bigger role. Ah well!

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Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Ethan Hawke

Jake

Pedro Pascal

Silva

José Condessa

Actor

Manu Rios

Actor

Pedro Casablanc

Actor

Strange Way of Life: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, 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.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: El Deseo
Rating: R (Language|Bloody Images|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Western, LGBTQ+, Short
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 13, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $503.8K
Runtime: 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital