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# Review: Bitter Christmas
- URL: https://www.gtv.blue/review-bitter-christmas/
- Published: 2026-08-31T23:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T13:02:37.000Z
- Description: Almodóvar gets introspective in this exploration of writers and relationships.
- Author: Gareth Johnson
- Tags: Film

It's easy to be a fan of the work of Pedro Almodóvar. With over 20 feature films under his belt, he creates watchable films with engaging characters - brimming with camp humour and queer drama.

Everything we love about Almodóvar is present in Bitter Christmas \[Amarga Navidad\] but it's perhaps not as instantly accessible as classics such as All About My Mother (1999) or Volver (2006).

Bitter Christmas sees Almodóvar return to the introspection - and dual time-line structure - of Pain and Glory (2019), but takes things in a more meta direction with a knowing self-awareness.

The two time-lines are 2004, in which an advertising director navigates a turbulent Christmas weekend, and also 2026, in which a filmmaker is writing a screenplay that draws inspiration from the people closest to him.

Part of the confusion for the viewer - on the first viewing - is that Almodóvar is using a misdirect. Most of our focus is given to the characters in the 2004 storyline but any emotional investment is undercut as we realise that their narrative is the film within a film.

Rather than immersing us in the drama of the characters he has created, Almodóvar seems to be more interested in the process of writing - the creative challenges and the moral compromises that writers grapple with.

As you'd expect from an Almodóvar film, everything looks beautiful and the cast is outstanding. However, as a film-watching experience, it feels a bit unsatisfying - there's not really any emotional pay-off for the audience. As a meditation on the challenges of being a successful writer, it's fascinating.

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[People need to know.Strip off and immerse yourself in the world of Naked Men Talking.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/3f/e83f7e76-af4a-4e9f-a171-931e3df7b588/content/images/icon/favicon-505dae7f-e8ea-4d82-99ae-a145ec3de615.ico)Naked Men TalkingGareth Johnson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/3f/e83f7e76-af4a-4e9f-a171-931e3df7b588/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_396727821-4e307a23-a617-4b29-8a5e-b32e4500db0b.jpeg)](https://www.gtv.blue/people-need-to-know-7/)