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9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2019 FILM ENVIRONMENT PAIN AND GLORY DEATH OR GLORY PAINFUL STORY OBLIGATORY HOARY ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ We usually associate vultures with African scenes of lions gorging on zebra while a skulk of sombre vultures wait their turn to hobble in for their pound of flesh (or gristle, tendon, skin and bone). But four species of vulture also make their home in Europe, but they're all quite rare. With one exception, the vultures of Europe pretty much stay in their territory all their life. The exception is the Egyptian vulture (M. avultun abjad), the smallest of the four and a regular migratory bird. So it is the one vulture species that occasionally graces our sky, as happened last week. It was a young bird (the one pictured is an adult) on its first migration to Africa from maybe Sicily or further north. Egyptian vultures are so called not because they hail from Egypt but because they featured so much in ancient Egyptian culture, religion, writing and art. Text: Victor Falzon - Photo: Aron Tanti 679. EGYPTIAN VULTURE Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 577: Find out more and try our delicious recipe: www.foemalta.org/goodfood director renowned for his play- ful use of kitsch and melodra- ma, it is doubly impressive to see him rein in those instincts here, when the closeness of the subject matter would, one as- sumes, make the temptation towards shrieking and hand- wringing all the more tempt- ing. What is certainly present and accounted for is Almodovar's effortless grasp of a gorgeous palette; cinematographically aided along by José Luis Al- caine and thematically tied to the coming-of-age story at the film's centre: young Salvador's 'true education' at the hands of the technicolour gems of Hol- lywood's Golden Age. So, visually rooted with a typi- cal confidence and assurance, Almodovar's intimate story is allowed to unspool with sur- prisingly little dramatic frills. Scores are settled, and key rev- elations are dropped at the right moment. But that is hardly the point. Confessing the true ex- tent of the titular pain that dogs Salvador's latter-day existence in a collage that scans like a mercifully truncated riff on Ku- brick and Malick at their trip- piest, we follow him along and root for him to somehow regain at least a taste of the 'glory' that makes it all worthwhile. And for all the centrality and power of Almodovar's own presence in this film, and on the world cinema stage as a whole, none of this would have been possible without the subtle, humble and utterly self-effac- ing performance from Antonio Banderas that we're regaled with here. It's a reminder that, for all his trademark flourishes and stylistic bravado, Almodo- var's film is, like any other, a collaborative affair. In the end, what leads to glory is making peace with frayed friendships and muddled memories. Cine- ma's a good way to accomplish that. The verdict With typical verve and sensitivity, Almodovar delves into his own per- sonal history to present an emotionally raw but narratively delightful ex- ploration of a film-maker's twilight years. There's a very particular pleasure to observing a film-maker at the height of his pow- ers so effortlessly wield a masterful balance of pathos and comedy, and Pain and Glory delivers on all fronts. Pain and Glory will be screened at Spazju Kreat- tiv Cinema at St James Cavalier, Valletta tonight at 8pm and September 25, October 1 and October 11 at 7.30pm ★ ★ ★ ★ PAIN AND GLORY (15) Mummy, dearest: Penelope Cruz and Asier Flores