Bitter Christmas

How far is it acceptable for an artist to go to write a good story?

Raúl is suffering from writer’s block. No matter what he does, he can’t seem to overcome it. In the past, he’s found inspiration in his boyfriend Santi, but that well has dried up. When his loyal assistant, Mónica, takes time off work to deal with a personal crisis, he finds inspiration in her tragedy.

The story Raúl is writing centres on his alter ego, the filmmaker Elsa. She, too, is struggling to regain her creative spark and begins using her friends’ problems as material for her new film.

The newest film by Pedro Almodóvar is one of his most self-reflective films. It premiered in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.