Pedro Almodóvar returns with a soulful semi-autobiographical story about an ageing film director reflecting on his personal and professional past.

Antonio Banderas (who picked up the Best Actor prize at Cannes for his brilliant work) stars as Salvador Mallo, a film director with a fading career and growing list of aches, pains and ailments. A planned retrospective causes him to remember his past (his childhood with his mother, played by Penelope Cruz, his first love affair in 80s Madrid, his discovery of cinema and career success) and reunite with a former leading man - with unexpected consequences...

A film about connecting with the past (and all the pain and glory that entails), Almodóvar reflects on desire, creativity, addiction and cinema itself - and it's a joy to behold.

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