In times of crisis, like a global pandemic that has the entire film industry (and many other industries) in complete lockdown, many find comfort in movies and TV to get them through this mess. Sure, we still love seeing indie dramas, but there’s nothing like the comfort of a comedy, an animated film, a franchise you have known and love for years to remind you that things can hopefully go back to how they were before. Turns out, not even Oscar-winning filmmakers are immune to the charms of one James Bond, as director Pedro Almodóvar published a passionate and emotional essay about life under quarantine, and about the joy in watching “Goldfinger.”
In an essay published in Spanish newspaper El Diario, Almodóvar wrote about his experience being in self-isolation. “So far I had refused to write. I didn’t want to leave a written record of the feelings caused by the first days of isolation,” Almodóvar said, before describing his routine, which involves walking up and down “the corridor where Julieta Serano complained to Antonio Banderas about not being a good son, referring to myself,” referring his last movie “Pain and Glory.”
He also wrote about the movie he’s been seeing, saying he’s scheduled different movies, TV shows and books for different hours of the day. Almodóvar said he one day picked French crime thriller “Un flic” by Jean-Pierre Melville, but found himself surprised by seeing “Goldfinger” instead. “For days like this (or so I thought) the best thing is pure entertainment, pure escapism,” the director wrote. “When I’m seeing ‘Goldfinger’ I’m glad by the choice, more than me making the choice it was it – the movie – that chose me.”
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He goes on to write about the time he met Sean Connery himself, and how the actor called him after seeing attending a screening of “Talk to Her.” “Hearing his voice, a deep voice from a good actor and a handsome man. I was thinking about all this while I saw ‘Goldfinger’ that night. The quarantine, the night, Sean Connery and me, with jumps and interruptions.”