Bitter Christmas

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film finds a director crossing ethical lines in their search for a story to film.

Filmmaker Elsa suffers debilitating migraines. She also feels stuck creatively. Meanwhile, her friends have their own problems; Patricia is concerned her husband is cheating, while Natalia is grieving from a devastating loss. When Elsa decides to incorporate elements from their lives into her autobiographical script, she puts these friendships to the test.

Pedro Almodóvar delivers a sun-dappled journey exploring life, art and the ownership of stories that are told. Offering generous servings of his signature bold and vibrant style, as well as camp humour, this self-reflexive drama inventively plays with narrative structure, blurring the lines between reality, fiction and memory, while exploring questions around the healing power of art and the morality of artists drawing inspiration from the lives of others.