Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Light spoilers forPain and Glorybelow.
Salva agrees, but refuses to see the play.
Hes lonely, depressed, anxious, and might be on the verge of giving up altogether.
Until Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia) returns to him.
By the end of the performance, tears are rolling freely down his face.
He confronts Alberto in his dressing room, confessing that he recognizes the story and thathesSalvas lost love.
Seconds later, hes phoning Salva, and within 20 minutes, he shows up at his apartment.
The scene that follows is beautiful, perhaps the best Ive seen so far at Cannes.
Its moving, its surprising, its tragic and its pretty freakin hot.
Salva, hopeful and afraid, asks Federico if he has a current partner.
Yes, says Federico.
A man or a woman?
asks Salva, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.
A woman, says Federico.
I was never with another man after you.
At the end of the night, the men embrace again at Salvas door, gripping each other tightly.
Federico pulls back and looks directly into Salvas eyes.
For old times, he says, kissing Salva deeply.
Do you want me to stay and sleep with you?
Of course I do, says Salva.
But you should go.
Its a stunning, emotionally bare scene in a film full of them.
As it turns out, Almodovar actually sprung the kiss on the two actors at the last minute.
The kiss is very erotic, he said, laughing.
I admit it: They didnt know about it.
I thought about that kiss just the night before.
In the script, there was a civilized kiss, a regular kiss.
But that really erotic kiss I got excited.
I told them that morning they were going to shoot it.
It wasnt his first gay kiss onscreen, nor was it his first with Almodovar.
It was fine, said Banderas of the spontaneous addition of the kiss.
No prejudgments, no nothing, since I started working as an actor.
I always work like that with Pedro.
He said, The kiss has to be like that.
So we go for it.
Its not gonna change me.
I am who I am.
I know my sexuality.
Its very clear to me.
Im not afraid of it and I have nothing against it.
People can love whoever they want in the way that they want.
If theyd had any problem with that sequence, Id feel dirty and uncomfortable, added Almodovar.
But Antonio and Leonardo were completely free.
If theyd had some resistance, the erotic scene would be much less lively.
Banderas added that his tears in the scene surprised him more than the kiss did.
I expected Pedro to say cut, but he didnt, he said.
I was like, Shit!I had no idea itd hit me so strong, emotionally.
He wasnt surprised, though, by the audiences palpable reaction to the kiss.
You have the intellect of Europe in this theater, watching [the film quietly], he laughed.
Then the kiss comes, and suddenly you hear[long exhale].
I looked over at Leo and smiled.
It was about a love that was cut short, somebody I was still very much in love with.
It was painful to put in the film; I was really doubting it, he said.
But I think it was important to have it to explain Antonios character.
But in reality, I fired [my lover], and never got to see him again.
Part of Almodovars hesitation was owed to the scenes roots in reality.
When you write about real characters, you involve people that are not on the public scene.
So Im very careful with that, he said.
Almodovar found that absolutely hilarious, and immediately put it into the film.
But his friend was furious.
She begrudged me, he said.
I told her, But its wonderful.
I turned something dramatic into a wonderful comic character.
But she didnt like it.
These are the problems of autofiction.
He thought for a moment, then smiled.
Its possible, he said.
