Parallel Mothers (Pedro Almodovar, 2021) aka Madres paralelas; Penelope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Rossy de Palma, Julieta Serrano
There are two completely separate stories. One is about two mothers and their babies. The other is about a mass grave from a Spanish conflict being dug up. I can't see any connexion between the two, so don't know why they're in the same film. It's the kind of connexion that exists in life, but isn't this supposed to be art? It's not a doco.
All of the acting is outstanding. All the technical stuff is excellent. I just can't accept that the grave thing is at the beginning and ending of the movie, when most of it - all of the middle of it - is about babies.
IMDb page.
Wikipedia page. Excerpt:
At its opening night world premiere, the movie received a nine-minute standing ovation from Venice Film Festival attendees in the Sala Grande. It was submitted to be the Spanish entry to the 94th Academy Awards alongside Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea and The Good Boss, but the latter film was the final official selection.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 176 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A brilliant forum for Penélope Cruz's talent, Parallel Mothers reaffirms the familiar pleasures of Almodóvar's filmmaking while proving he's still capable of growth." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."
Garry Gillard | New: 8 February, 2022 | Now: 26 December, 2022