Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almódovar has made a name for himself creating some of the most enjoyable melodramas in recent memory. Although it may not be the most emotionally rich of Almodóvar’s work, Bitter Christmas has its fair share of successes that make it a worthy entry into his filmography, perhaps even as one of his funniest movies.

What is Bitter Christmas about?

Bitter Christmas follows a filmmaker working on a script as he finds his characters are starting to closely resemble himself and his own life — and, more importantly, the lives of the people around him. In telling this story, Almodóvar is reflecting not only on the creative process as a whole but specifically his body of work, as his films are particularly known for this type of personal inspiration.

Bitter Christmas Review

For the past few years, Almodóvar has been working in the English language with the shorts The Human Voice and Strange Way of Life and culminating in Golden Lion Winner The Room Next Door. It’s almost funny that Bitter Christmas is being touted as his return to the Spanish language, given that he’s only done two consecutive English movies, but more interesting is where his latest film fits within the context of his greater filmography. 

In its self-referential nature, the easiest comparison for Bitter Christmas within Almodóvar’s repertoire is the semi-autobiographical Pain & Glory. However, where Almodóvar used metatextual elements in that movie to weave a deeply personal, emotional tale, he uses them here to poke fun at himself. Like many acclaimed auteurs, the Spanish filmmaker seems to be engaging with his critics, who have referred to his recent output as parodies or at least shadows of his former work.

While this approach could feel somewhat pretentious in the hands of many filmmakers, there is one major reason Almodóvar is able to pull it off: he is genuinely funny. Even in his movies that are not outright comedies, there are moments of great humor in many of Almodóvar’s films owing to his camp influences, and because he actually sets out to make something closer to an actual comedy in Bitter Christmas, it should come as no surprise that it’s his funniest movie yet.

Almodóvar is also meaner to his characters in Bitter Christmas than he typically is. Perhaps because his focus here is himself and not someone he holds near and dear, such as his mother, he’s willing to make his characters a bit more problematic. Some of the characters in this film are downright awful people, but if you enjoy watching trashy telenovelas about terrible people, you will likely find Almodóvar’s melodrama to be absolutely delicious.

Bitter Christmas also sees Almodóvar eschew the stable of A-list stars (at least to Americans) he has been working with over the past few years. There’s no Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, or Tilda Swinton here. Instead, he works with an ensemble of performers he has mostly used in his previous movies, including Leonardo Sbargalia (Pain & Glory) and Milena Smit (Parallel Mothers). The result is a greater focus on the characters than on the stars playing them — a wise decision given the specificity of this piece.

Of course, from a technical level, Bitter Christmas has all of the hallmarks of an Almodóvar picture: impeccable fashion, lots of color, a dramatic score by Alberto Iglesias. Almodóvar is the type of auteur whose films are unmistakably his own — if you have always liked his work, you’ll find much to love in Bitter Christmas, but it is unlikely to win him any new fans.

Is Bitter Christmas worth watching?

At one point in the movie, Almodóvar’s characters (a stand-in for himself) toy with the idea of what it means to create “minor work” — and this is precisely what Bitter Christmas is for its creator. It’s a fun formal experiment, and while it’s mostly silly and slight, it’s enjoyable for those who are already fans of the filmmaker.

Bitter Christmas premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 12-23.

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