Kino inak A4: Trpké Vianoce

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film is an autofictional, multi-layered tragicomedy in which the worlds of cinema and reality intertwine. It follows Elsa, an advertising and film director, who, following her mother’s death, throws herself into her work and gradually loses her bearings in her personal life. Following a health crisis, she travels with a friend to Lanzarote, where she attempts to escape her grief, yet at the same time unwittingly transforms it into creative material. At the same time, we also follow the screenwriter Raúl, whose film project in progress turns out to be a reflection and gradual ‘invention’ of Elsa’s story, thereby blurring the line between the author and his fiction. Here, Almodóvar explores his signature themes – memory, identity, female characters and the very act of creation – but elevates them to a meta-level concerning the ethics of storytelling and the use of personal experiences. The colourful, meticulously composed mise-en-scène contrasts with the characters’ intimate emotional uncertainty, creating a tension between external control and internal disintegration.

Recommended age rating: 15+

Content descriptors: fear

Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar, ES, 2026, 111 mins, Spanish with Czech subtitles

The digitisation of ‘Kino inak’ was financially supported by the Audiovisual Fund. Public funding was provided by the Bratislava City Foundation and the Bratislava-Staré Mesto district.