As it wraps up production, Ethan Hawke has shared a selfie with Pedro Pascal to celebrate the end of filming on the LGBTQ+ Western short film Strange Way of Life. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, the 30-minute short will chronicle the relationship between Silva (Pascal) and Sheriff Jake (Hawke), a pair of gunslingers who reunite in the Spanish desert after decades apart. While plot details are scarce, Almodóvar previously teased a “very intimate” story that follows Pascal's Silva as he rides his horse to Bitter Creek to visit Jake for the first time in 25 years, leading to a “showdown” between the two.
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Just shy of 20 years ago, Almodóvar was in talks to direct another LGBTQ+ Western, the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain. The project ultimately went to Ang Lee after Almodóvar read the script and found it lacked the degree of lust he believed was essential to the relationship between the leads. Now, the director has penned Strange Way of Life as his “answer” to Brokeback Mountain, also being only Almodóvar’s second project to be shot in English. Filming took place in August in the Tabernas desert region of Almería, famous for being the site of Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
To announce that filming has officially wrapped, Ethan Hawke posted a photo on Instagram with Pascal from the set in southern Spain. While it doesn’t give too much away, the rich sunset teases some of the intimacy Almodóvar promised. In the caption, Hawke praises the director and his “wonderful” team and says working on the film has “been a dream.” Check out the post from Hawke’s Instagram below:
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Despite the fact that it isn’t a full-fledged feature film, the excitement among its stars seems to indicate that Strange Way of Life is a passion project for all involved. Hawke and Pascal are among the most seasoned actors in the business, and Almodóvar has quite the reputation with those who have worked with him before. Penélope Cruz, who has seven Almodóvar films under her belt and nabbed an Oscar nom for Best Actress earlier this year for Parallel Mothers, has gushed for years about his ability to bring the best out of his stars. With all of this considered, the LGBTQ+ Western short seems guaranteed to be a profoundly affecting watch.
Strange Way of Life is also a notable shift away from Hawke and Pascal’s other recent projects. Not only will it mark their first onscreen collaboration, but both have been hard at work on major Disney+ projects, with Hawke’s Moon Knight dropping earlier this year, while Pascal is set to reprise his role in The Mandalorian when Season 3 premieres in February. Although Strange Way of Life doesn’t have a concrete release date yet, it is expected to be unveiled sometime next year.