Strange Way of Life

Strange Way of Life (2023) – A Queer Western With Passion, Pain, and Poetry

Strange Way of Life (2023) is a bold and intimate short film by Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar that reimagines the classic Western through a queer, emotional lens. With a runtime of just 31 minutes, the film manages to pack a stunning amount of tension, beauty, and vulnerability into a small frame, offering a story about lost love, masculinity, and the lasting grip of desire. Starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, the film is both a tribute to and subversion of the traditional cowboy mythos, using the dusty, wide landscapes of the West not just for shootouts—but for emotional reckonings.

Set in a desolate frontier town, the story centers on Silva (Pedro Pascal), a rancher who rides across the desert to visit Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke), his former friend—and, as the film reveals, his former lover. What begins as a reunion between old companions soon shifts into a deeply personal confrontation. While Silva arrives with warmth and nostalgia, Jake is distant, suspicious, and emotionally guarded. Beneath their sparse conversations lies a complicated history of love, betrayal, and repression.

The title, Strange Way of Life, is taken from a Portuguese fado song by Amália Rodrigues, which speaks of the sorrow and beauty of a life lived outside the norms of society. That same bittersweet energy permeates the film. Almodóvar—known for his mastery of color, emotion, and human complexity—delivers a story that is restrained in dialogue but rich in subtext. Every glance, every pause between words carries emotional weight. The film does not need to say everything aloud; it trusts the audience to feel what’s been left unspoken.

Both Hawke and Pascal deliver superb performances. Hawke plays Jake as a man struggling to suppress not only his past feelings but his very identity—his stoicism is a defense mechanism. Pascal, on the other hand, imbues Silva with warmth, hope, and deep longing. Together, they create an electric on-screen chemistry that simmers with unresolved tension. Their scenes together are filled with tenderness, conflict, and the heartbreak of roads not taken.

Visually, the film is stunning. Shot in Spain’s Almería desert (famous for Spaghetti Westerns), the cinematography by José Luis Alcaine captures vast, sun-drenched landscapes and intimate interiors with a painterly eye. The contrast between the harshness of the setting and the softness of the emotions makes for a poetic tension. Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent and executive producer, brings a fashionable edge to the costuming, giving the film a sleek yet grounded aesthetic.

While short in length, Strange Way of Life is deep in feeling. It challenges the traditional Western’s notions of masculinity, power, and love. It’s a story not about outlaws and justice, but about what happens when love must be hidden, and what remains when two men meet again with the past between them. In Almodóvar’s hands, the Western becomes not just a genre, but a stage for deep, timeless human emotion.