Bitter Christmas

Play trailer

1:05

Bitter Christmas

R

Now Playing

1h 51m

Drama

Comedy

Holiday

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

91 Reviews

Popcornmeter

0 Verified Ratings

Bitter Christmas tells two alternating stories, one starring Elsa, an advertising director, in 2004, during a long weekend in December. The second takes place in 2026 and stars Raúl, a screenwriter and director who is writing a script that we soon discover is the story of Elsa, her boyfriend Bonifacio, and her friends Patricia and Natalia. Mixed with fiction, Elsa is, in a way, Raúl's alter ego, who, like him, resorts to autofiction as a solution to a long period of creative drought. He looks inside himself, and he can't help but also look at the people who make up his most intimate universe: his partner and his assistant. The film narrates the close relationship between reality and fiction, between inspiration and life, exploring the limits of autofiction and stories within stories.

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Critics Consensus

A visually dazzling and effortlessly fluid late-period Almodóvar entry, Bitter Christmas charms with its well-crafted characters, comic rhythms, and nested storytelling.

Read Critics Reviews

Tim Grierson

Los Angeles Times

1 day ago

Even “minor” Almodóvar has its strengths, although it’s ironic that, by laying bare his history as a creative magpie, he ends up a bit blocked.

Go to Full Review

Peter Travers

The Travers Take

1 day ago

3/4

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest provocation follows a blocked filmmaker weaponizing the painful history of his oldest friends to unblock his creative fire. You can feel Almodóvar’s passion for cinema in every frame, along with his self loathing.

Go to Full Review

Keith Phipps

The Reveal

1 day ago

3.5 / 5

It’s all quite compelling, albeit undoubtedly more compelling for longtime Almodóvar admirers than newcomers.

Go to Full Review

Brett Arnold

At the Movies Again

1 day ago

A late-style work that's an absolute treat for Almodovar fans, an amusing and moving self-reflexive meditation on the sacrifices an artist makes using their real life as fodder for art.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

1 day ago

3.5/4

Consider me grateful for the earnest, confessional quality of Almodóvar’s latest, a decidedly personal film, and another stunningly made look inward by one of our finest directors.

Go to Full Review

Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

1 day ago

Without adding up to much in the end, there’s some playful narrative misdirection and tart dialogue, highlighted by a first-rate climactic reckoning.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

John M

@JMthe2nd 1 day ago

They say write what you know but they never say what the repercussions might be when you do. With Bitter Christmas Almodovar gives us a glimpse into the creative process and the fallout it can cause when art too closely resembles life. The problem is that the conflict that develops seems forced and overplayed. An Almodovar film, even when not his best, is always better than most other films. This one may not be his best but it's still an interesting watch.

See more

Omri S

@Omri.sTenenbaum Aug 25, 2026

It’s not a good film, but it’s a brave film

See more

Dani G

@RT81139271 Aug 1, 2026

Mature... Reflexive... In the same line as Almodovar's recent work

See more

I S

@gidkYs-xyxsyc-tycbi8 Jul 11, 2026

I give it half a star so thaht I can write this review but would gladly give it none. That it has very good actors is no doubt. All have made excellent movies in the past, but the problem is clearly not the acting tbut the script, the story or should I say the non-story. It is just simply one of the worst movies I have seen in a very long time. The trama moves aimlessly through time... which becomes unbearable as I waited desperately to see the word FIN...the end just to say I had been able to conquer the boredom and disbelief that this movie actually made it to the theaters. Someone close to Almodovar should be honest with him with the movie or the idea behind the movie just doesn't work. There is no need to pretend this is just a colorful, nicely photographed, terrible movie.

See more

Doug R

@DouggyRand Jun 13, 2026

Almodavar is a generational filmmaker but this one will be lost to time.

See more

Alejandro E

@Alex970 Jun 5, 2026

El mayor temor de todo cineasta, la página en blanco, en una trama que sabe combinar lo real y lo fantástico de manera que sea fácil para el espectador seguir la pista sin abrumarlo a base de sub tramas.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Bárbara Lennie

Elsa

Leonardo Sbaraglia

Raúl Rossetti

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

Mónica

Victoria Luengo

Patricia

Patrick Criado

Bonifacio

Bitter Christmas: Teaser Trailer

1:05

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Bitter Christmas tells two alternating stories, one starring Elsa, an advertising director, in 2004, during a long weekend in December. The second takes place in 2026 and stars Raúl, a screenwriter and director who is writing a script that we soon discover is the story of Elsa, her boyfriend Bonifacio, and her friends Patricia and Natalia. Mixed with fiction, Elsa is, in a way, Raúl's alter ego, who, like him, resorts to autofiction as a solution to a long period of creative drought. He looks inside himself, and he can't help but also look at the people who make up his most intimate universe: his partner and his assistant. The film narrates the close relationship between reality and fiction, between inspiration and life, exploring the limits of autofiction and stories within stories.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Agustín Almodóvar
Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Movistar Plus+, El Deseo, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO)
Rating: R (Some Sexual Material|Language)
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Holiday
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 13, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 51m
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings