Almodóvar's latest is a hall of mirrors: Bárbara Lennie's Elsa, a migraine-plagued actress whose flop films became cult classics, mines her friends' troubles for a new script, while Leonardo Sbaraglia's filmmaker Raúl is writing her. Patrick Criado plays her boyfriend, a fireman moonlighting as a stripper. If you love both the cheeky early Almodóvar and the aching later one, these late NYFF shows are the way in before its fall release.
What to expect
A 111-minute Spanish-language feature with English subtitles, shown in a Lincoln Center theater with the festival crowd. Expect the director's saturated color, melodrama and wit, folded into a story about how artists borrow from real lives. Milena Smit and Patrick Criado round out a cast playing friends whose lives feed the script.
Good to know
- Take the 1 train to 66 St–Lincoln Center; the A, B, C and D stop a few blocks south at 59 St–Columbus Circle.
- Bitter Christmas is a Sony Pictures Classics release that opens at Film at Lincoln Center later in the fall.
- Festival screenings start on time, so collect tickets and get in line early.
- If a screening is listed as sold out, check Film at Lincoln Center's site again closer to the day for released seats.
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Common questions
Is Bitter Christmas in Spanish?
Yes, it plays in Spanish with English subtitles.
Who stars in Bitter Christmas?
Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Patrick Criado and Milena Smit.
How long is the film?
111 minutes.
