"Parallel Mothers" by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Penélope Cruz

Is it me, or do all his titles always seem a little “off?” Maybe it’s about the translation or something?

A lot of it is that they are almost always literal translations, but I also think that he has a certain style. A lot of his characters over the years have been actors, directors, and screenwriters and their movies (within movies) have always had the same comical, almost absurdist style.

It’s a terrific movie, and Cruz has never been better, but it’s not really breaking through with awards groups the way his often do. And it’s struggling at the box office since the older arthouse audience is reluctant to come back.

I agree, though I still have hopes for the Oscars, and that once it is available streaming, that will change. This movie is in a different class than Don't Look Up, etc.

You can watch it on Netflix in Latin America but not in the US WTF?

Times review.

R5 behind paywall

I know no Spanish but I assume this movie is about babies switched in the hospital.

{Penelope must be 45 by now)

[quote] since the older arthouse audience is reluctant to come back

It’s not even the virus, I’ve just became lazy and used to watching films at home. I have a whole stack of films I want to see that aren’t on streaming and it’s frustrating…

Almodovar is one of the few filmmakers who puts original ideas on film today.

I have really been behind in seeing a new Almodovar film for some time. I all but stopped seeing films in a theater about 10 years ago because if I wanted to watch people talk and text through a movie I could do that for free at my niece's house.

But I need to catch up. All About My Mother will always remain my favorite.

You have superb taste, r11.

R12 You're entirely too kind. Do go on : )

I'll be catching up on them all. Well, almost all....I think the only movie of his in recent years that got truly bad reviews was I'm So Excited.

People need to support movies like this while they’re in theaters, or they’ll stop making them. Streaming is for couch potatoes with no taste.

Not so. Film makers are adapting to streaming services.

NY Times

“World-building” usually refers to how the makers of science fiction and fantasy construct their domains, populating them with imaginary creatures and allegorical meanings. But among living filmmakers, the most prodigious world builder might be Pedro Almodóvar. Plenty of directors have a style. Almodóvar conjures a cosmos — a domain of bright colors, piercing music (often by Alberto Iglesias) and swirling melodrama. If you’ve visited in the past, you will be eager to return.

This isn’t to say that Almodóvaria, as I sometimes think of it, is a realm entirely apart from the drab planet where most of us live. It’s a version of Spain (most of the time), informed by that country’s aesthetic and literary traditions, a legacy that encompasses the perverse whimsy of Surrealism and the openhearted pathos of flamenco. “Parallel Mothers,” Almodóvar’s new feature, adds an element that he had previously avoided: the legacy of the Spanish Civil War and the nearly 40 years of dictatorship that followed.

At first, the war seems like an unlikely, poignant entry point into a uniquely Almodóvarian swirl of present-day romantic complication and domestic anguish. Janis (Penélope Cruz, never better) is a photographer shooting a very handsome forensic anthropologist for a magazine spread. His name is Arturo (Israel Elejalde), and his grim specialty is examining the remains of Franco’s victims, many of whom were buried in unmarked mass graves. One of those graves is in Janis’s hometown. Her great-grandfather was part of a group of men taken from their homes early in the war and never seen again. She asks Arturo if he can help in the investigation.

He offers to do what he can, and then he and Janis sleep together. She gets pregnant — he is married — and decides to raise their child on her own. All of this happens quickly, and seems like a complicated narrative mechanism designed to introduce Janis to Ana (Milena Smit), a teenager she meets in the maternity ward. Almost simultaneously, they give birth to girls and promise to keep in touch.

Their relationship will pass through friendship, love, devastating loss, deceit and despair. The central plot of “Parallel Mothers” is vintage Almodóvar: a skein of reversals, revelations, surprises and coincidences unraveled with style, wit and feeling. The contrasts of background and temperament between Janis and Ana provide the dominant tones. Janis, the child of a hippie mother (who named her after Janis Joplin), was raised by her grandmother. She has grown up to be a practical, independent Madrileña, warmhearted but unsentimental. Her best friend is an elegant magazine editor played by Rossy de Palma, a statuesque avatar of Almodóvarismo in its purest essence.

Ana is the child of an (unseen) father, who lives in Granada, and a mother, Teresa (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), caught up in her acting career. In spite of Ana’s unhappy circumstances (her pregnancy is the result of rape), an aura of privilege clings to her family. Teresa, the kind of woman who might have been the heroine of an earlier Almodóvar picture — he is often drawn to theater, and to the toughness and vulnerability of actresses — is something of a villain here, an entitled narcissist who can’t fully acknowledge the reality of her daughter’s experiences.

Janis doesn’t exactly replace Teresa in Ana’s life. She has her own problems to confront, some of which resemble Ana’s, some of which put them in conflict with each other. “Parallel Mothers,” in effect, critiques its own title. The two characters mirror each other in some ways, but nobody’s story moves in a straight line. Entanglement is unavoidable. Almodóvarian geometry is hyperbolic, non-Euclidean, kinked and convoluted.

But Almodóvar’s art is also characterized by emotional precision and moral clarity. What happens to Ana and Janis isn’t just a matter of accident or narrative artifice; there is a political dimension to their relationship that is the key to the film’s structure.

When Arturo comes back into the picture, he brings a reminder of unfinished historical business. If, at first, the horror of the past had seemed like the scaffolding for a modern story, the final sections of “Parallel Mothers” suggest the opposite. Injustice festers across generations. The failure to confront it casts a persistent, ugly shadow.

That shadow is a new element in Almodóvar’s imagined universe, and it challenges some of his artistic assumptions. A reality as stark, as brutal, as unresolved as the fascist terror that dominated Spain in the middle decades of the 20th century doesn’t fit comfortably within his elegant frames and melodramatic conceits. That may be the point of “Parallel Mothers,” and the rawness of its final scenes is a measure of its accomplishment. We build new worlds to understand the one we’re in.

Go see this movie!!

I loved this film. Penelope Cruz is outstanding in this.

[quote]Go see this movie!!

I wholeheartedly agree, OP, it's a very fulfilling experience. A wonderful and thoughtful examination of parenting, of loss and remembrance reflected in multiple generations. Penelope Cruz is luminous, and just seeing Rossy de Palma on screen makes me happy.

I love the subject. In Spain most of our abuelas still have photos of male relatives killed in the civil war hanging somewhere in the house.

They're bleak sepia toned photos of unsmiling young men. Many holding rifles. This is all still very prominent in our minds even if we don't speak of it.

That makes me want to cry again, r24. Again, I didn't know what the subject matter was when I went in. The whole movie was amazing, but the last 15 minutes or so made me so emotional.

On a more festive note, Penélope and Pedro were on Graham Norton last night with James McAvoy. I was in heaven, except Graham mispronounced "Almodóvar" the first time he said it.

R15 but they’re not happy about it.

There's a very good multi episode doc on Youtube by Granada if you'd like to learn about the Spanish Civil War before seeing this film.

Can someone explain why Netflix is streaming this film in Latin America but not in the USA. What is the reasoning here?

Made it through 15 min, then had enough and turned it off. Little acting, less charm, no Almodovar. Almodovar does far better dissecting the Spanish psyche/human condition (with the exception of Los amantes pasajeros). I dread to think what his foray into English-language film making will be like.

The film is available on several online free streaming sites with English subs.

I think they're waiting for Oscar season to be over. There are AMPAS rules about films not premiering on TV if they are in competition.

R29. So link one svp.

Is it going to stream on Netflix? When?

Fuck Sony.

R29. No, it's not.

Saw it this afternoon, in a cinema, cause if nobody goes, we're only going to get Marvel superhero nonsense. Plus, Almodovar wants his films seen in a cinema, and this movie deserves that, cause it's one of this best. I'm surprised by its seriousness and thoughtfulness. And Cruz gives a sublime performance. If she's not nominated tomorrow, then that just means the voters didn't bother to watch the movie. (And that happens more than punters realize.)

I loved "Volver", so I'll definitely be seeing this (and the other five Almodóvar/Cruz films I haven't seen).

Penelope Cruz is turning into Sophia Loren, and I mean this is a wholly positive way. There's a sort of incandescent voluptuousness to her these days.

I saw it this weekend and really loved it. It was mad and ridiculous, like all of Almodovar's movies are, but it was pretty great.

R37 How can you describe Cruz as 'voluptuous' when Almodóvar asked to her to wear fake buttocks and hips for one of his movies?

She's clearly a woman of a certain age but is astonishingly beautiful.

I saw this back in September at the New York Film Festival. I liked it quite a bit . The performances of all the actresses are excellent. Cruz, especially. I would also recommend seeing this in the theater on the big screen. Somehow, you succumb to it more. The actresses totally pulled me into their worlds. Not being Spanish, I'm not sure if I can judge how well Almodovar juggled the two main stories of the switched children and the reclamation of the bodies of the murdered Fascist resisters. I was not aware that this is a subject that is getting attention from the younger generation, to reclaim and honor those who were murdered by government and buried on mass graves. I feel I need a second viewing of this to fully understand how Almodovar has connected these stories. I will say that the film has stayed with me for 4 1/2 months. It's quite haunting.lI would love to see Oscar nominations for both Penelope Cruz and its wonderful score.

To understand the history of Spain is helpful because up until Franco's death everybody was afraid to speak out against him. Artists, especially gay artists like Almovodar risked being imprisoned. People disappeared.

All this time, even now, we give side-eye to those and their families who supported Franco. It's not a coincidence Julio Iglasias, for instance, lives in Miami, not Spain.

^^ Iglesias

SPOILER:

I didn’t buy it that Cruz’ character would let that little cunt just walk off with the baby. I bet that shit wouldn’t fly in the US or UK.

Technically gorgeous. Almodovar's aesthetic seems to get slicker with age.

I knew the film wouldn't wrap up with satisfying conclusion. The historic themes didn't carry enough resonance.

It's still one of the best films of the year. A weak year though.

It's a stunning movie and reminds us all what real cinema is about - a captivating story, beautiful visuals, amazing performances and, yes, exaggerated drama

It now seems between Cruz and Chastain for the Oscar.

Cruz was tremendous but probably won’t win the Oscar (but should).

I'll see it. I love Almodovar and Cruz (in his movies) and ROSSY DE PALMA, bitches. She's an icon.

I could only watch this movie with Italian subtitles but it seemed oddly out of touch. Horrible editing. Cruz is getting long in the tooth. A 50 year old having a baby and then it dies after being given to a homeless drug addicted wench! Almodovar loves to shock but there was nothing sympathetic about this horrible film. 50 year olds should not be having kids. Of course they will die.

Didn’t Franco’s reconciliation succeed in Spain?

R50, Cruz is 47. She was 46 when she signed on. She was playing a character who was 40 at the beginning of the film and looks early 40s.

You'd be so lucky if you looked as 1/10th as hot as her. I'm sorry you don't.

You type bitter.

Parallel Mothers (in Spanish, of course) is the title of the movie script we see Mateo finishing at the start of Broken Embraces (also with Cruz; my personal favorite of the seven movies they've made together). Later in that film, there is a poster for it visible on a wall. Then, in Pain and Glory, when the heroin-using actor snoops through the main character's computer, Madres paralelas is one of the folders.

PA does that kind of thing often. Bad Education is another about a filmmaker, and on the wall there is a movie poster for Los amantes pasajeros/I'm So Excited, which was nine years in the future.

It is not one of my favorites Almodovars. The last one Pain and glory was superb, this one is not is one of his weaker works.

Cruz is turning 50 in 2 years, so she is closer to 50 than 40, Cinesnatch, you fucking stupid brain dead cunt. Huge fucking failure on Almodovar's part. Terrible story. Zero sympathetic characters.

Cruz can still play a character in her early 40s, R55.

If you think actors should not be allowed to do this, or if you actually think Cruz looks like she's approaching 50, than you need to remove your head from your ass.

Yea, Penelope looks good for her age, but late 30s?

To me it is also the firs time that I see an angry Almodovar, on the matter of fascist Francoist crimes. He used to approach very painful matters, such as pedophilia in Catholic church, incest, rape, abduction etc. with irony and humor and even some kind of empathy towards the perpetrators of these vicious crimes.

Here Penelope's character shows intolerance and condemns even for a teenager who is unaware of the painful Spanish past.

And it was strange to see a serious and almost humorless Almodovar. One of the scarce funny moments is when Rossy de Palma tells Penelope that the little girl (switched in the hospital) looks more and more ethnic.

R56 is 89 years old and her poon hasn't been moist or seen any action since the Mary Tyler Moore show first aired. It is on display at the Smithsonian.

I mean...25-year-olds play high school kids. I can buy Cruz as a few years younger than she really is. She looked amazing in Parallel Mothers, and I didn't think, "No way could she be having a baby!"

This movie was alright but not in the same league as Volver or All About my Mother. The ending especially was ham fisted and artless. Pedro should stick to melodrama and leave political allegory to others.

Here is the screenplay. A 50 year old playing 34 to 38. Not with all the plastic surgery or scotch tape in the world. Cruz looks 50.

1. PHOTO SESSION, ON A MEDIUM SIZED SET. 2017. INT. DAY. Among the props, on a table, there are two or three skulls. The usual technical and human crew. Behind the camera, Janis, a beautiful woman aged between 34 and 38, gives instructions to one of the assistants to move a light while she shoots with the first flashes. Facing her and in front of a simple roll of paper, Arturo Isla, 44, a forensic anthropologist, is posing. Janis makes him adopt different postures where only the position of his arms and hands or the orientation of his body or torso change (hands, face, and piercing eyes). The poses aren’t original, but they allow him to breathe comfortably and project a true image of himself. In the portraits (simple and forceful, they stress the best of the character in front of her) Janis achieves a greater impact.

Pedro wrote a character between the age of 34 and 38. He cast Cruz.

In the movie, Janis literally says she's about to turn 40.

But, if "Penelope Cruz looks 50" is the hill you want to die on. Go for it, mate. You won't have much company, R61.

How bizarre. Only on DataLounge.

If we wanted to be pedantic it would have been better if she didn't mention that she wasn't 40 yet. There are women who have their first child at 42, 43, 44 yo. , so one would assume it would be her.

But it is a minor reproach to the movie.

My auntie, in her early 50s, complained the other day that the radiologists recently stopped asking her if she was pregnant before x rays. Would a radiologist ask Penelope this question?

In that roundtable video with Branagh, Campion, Del Toro, and other directors, Almodóvar said he had been writing this one for a long damn time. He would put it aside and go back to it, which is his usual practice. He said some scripts, like Bad Education and Pain and Glory, just pour out of his fingers, and others are difficult; he keeps hitting blocks.

Since the title "Parallel Mothers" is a background element as far back as Broken Embraces (2009), he probably had the idea in mind with Cruz as star way back in the Volver days. So, he might feel he finally finished it at a time when, even if his preferred star wasn't as young as she was when he thought it up, she was still plausible.

I'd put it only about in the middle of his films (which is very good, because his films are awesome), but I don't think it would have been better with someone else as Janis.

R62 Your flabby smelly cunt seems over-invested in Penny Cruz. Perhaps get a life, stupid cunt. She looks like an old 50.

Almodovar has a few very good movies but mostly his movies were garbage. For every good movie there were at least two shitty ones. Having Penny play a thirty year old at fifty is absurd. maybe using de-aging tech would have worked. Take off those twenty hard years. Bad Education and All About My Mother were his two best.

Most of his films are garbage? Oh, dear.

R25: Though my favorite foreign film is, Jacques Demy's, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". I've seen all of Pedro Almodóvar's films. I am a longtime fan of his work. Even with the melodrama of "All About My Mother", "Parallel Mothers" is the first of his films where I got weepy at the end.