Bitter Christmas

Dir: Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2026, Comedy/Drama.
Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
“Maestro Pedro Almodóvar shines a spotlight on the screenwriting process in an intriguing and engrossing drama charting the evolution of a creative project… It sees Almodóvar return to personal territory… by focusing on the frustrations and neuroses of a filmmaker. This tragicomic tale introduces us to Raúl, whose trials with his indispensable assistant Mónica take a backseat to the story he is telling, that of his alter-ego Elsa, who is plagued by migraines and panic attacks and mourning her mother. Advertising director Elsa is living with devoted beau Bonifacio, a firefighter and stripper. Despite her own mental health struggles, Elsa finds time to support friends Patricia, whose partner has been cheating on her, and Natalia, who is grieving her young son, controversially taking artistic inspiration from both their predicaments. Sporting a typically vivid palette, scored with old Hollywood-esque suspense and building toward some explosive emotions, Bitter Christmas is in many ways quintessential Almodóvar. However, the filmmaker… takes to task the tendency of writers to cull from their own lives and the lives of others, with scant concern for the consequences… The film remains absorbing even as it picks over and rewrites itself… It’s thrillingly sophisticated stuff.” – Emma Simmonds, The List

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 112 min

Rating: 14A