PARALLEL MOTHERS

Penelope Cruz     Milena Smit     Aitana Sandhez-Gijon     Israel Elejalde 

            Even though the viewer can at times imagine what’s going to happen in this film, it still maintains its suspense and bit of mystery throughout.  Writer/director Almodovar’s work and the actors—especially Penelope Cruz—make viewing the film well worthwhile.  Two unmarried women are in the hospital to give birth, which had been unplanned for both of them.  Janis (Cruz) is older and more mature of the two, whereas Ana (Smit) is less grounded and has had an unhappy home life with each of her parents.  She’s still living with her mother, Teresa (Sanchez-Gijon), an actress, in an ambivalent relationship on both sides.

            Janis elects to have her baby and continue the family tradition of being a single mother.  Although the father (Elejalde) has various solutions, they aren’t acceptable to Janis and she insists on the two of them separating.  There is one hook; she had engaged Arturo (Elejalde), an anthropologist, to uncover the grave of her grandfather and others who were victims of Franco’s Fascist government.  The wives/daughters/granddaughters of these men have all pledged to see that they got a proper burial.  There is a certain amount of professional aid and red tape to achieve this, so it will take a fair amount of time.

            Meanwhile, the two mothers go their separate ways, although they had become close during their confinement and exchanged contact information.  Their paths do indeed cross in planned and spontaneous circumstances, after which, major twists and complications ensue.  This is the heart of the movie in both senses of the word.  A major ethical dilemma occurs for one character, and others have to make difficult decisions.

            This is another instance in which Almodovar’s empathy and understanding of women becomes paramount in relating a story that is dramatic but believable at the same time.  One of the beautiful things to observe in this case is the honor shown by so many of the characters.  Although heart-rending things have happened, the viewer leaves the theater feeling good about humanity and the world.

            At first, it seemed an odd juxtaposition of placing birthing and mothers next to the brutal deaths of ancestors, but in consideration of the reality of births and deaths being ongoing occurrences in life, it makes sense to me.  The “feel good” part of Parallel Mothers comes with the realization that life goes on, whatever happens and whatever we make of it; it’s bigger than any individual person.  And our happiness and ultimate satisfaction lies in the ties that bind us all together.

 

Another well founded and entertaining production of the master Pedro Almodovar.

 

Grade:  A                              By Donna R. Copeland

PAIN AND GLORY

Antonio Banderas     Asier Etxeandia     Leonardo Sharaglia     Nora Navas     Penelope Cruz     Asier Flores

     Pedro Almodovar’s account of his early years and a low period in middle age when he was suffering with a host of bodily complaints, depression, and anxiety is a soul-baring, intimate look at his life.  Interestingly, he sets aside the years when he was becoming and had achieved fame as a world-renowned filmmaker, although the main character, Salvador Mallo, is portrayed as just such a person.  But except for giving us brief pictures of Salvador’s childhood, this story focuses on an aging man in the midst of an existential crisis marked by physical ailments and ennui.

     I love the way the movie opens with the young Salvador (played by the enchanting Asier Flores) and a group of boys being asked by the choir director at church to demonstrate their potential for singing.  His pitch is perfect, demonstrating promise, at least in singing.  But the child goes on from there in mastering his studies and earning a scholarship at seminary. (Make no mistake, though; he definitely does not want to become a priest!)

     The film jumps back and forth between Salvador’s young life [poor, encouraged by his mother (Penelope Cruz, who always livens up the scenes she’s in] and much later on when he is at his lowest point, being supported primarily by his good friend Mercedes (Navas), who manages to get him to medical treatment.   It’s the most depressing part of the film because not only is Salvador suffering from a paralyzing depression, but he’s gotten into heroin to ease his pain.  He has re-connected with an actor (Etxeandia) in one of his films whom he alienated at one point, and with his old lover Federico (Sharaglia) who appears by sheer chance.

     All this is suspenseful as to how it will turn out in terms of Salvador working through his significant difficulties.  

     The talented Antonio Banderas is a long-time friend and collaborator of Almodovar, so his portrayal of the Salvador character is hand-in-glove.  Some of the most refreshing scenes in the film are those in which Salvador as a child is shown to be so very bright, enthusiastic, and caring toward everyone he meets, he wins our hearts and stokes our belief that everything is going to be all right in the end.  

     These and other scenes of Salvador with his dying mother and his reunification with Federico are some of the most intimate and revealing moments in the film, showing Almodovar’s admirable understanding of human relationships and how and why they are so important.

A heartfelt, soul-baring account of significant periods in the life of a world-renowned filmmaker.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

JULIETA

Emma Suárez     Adriana Ugarte     Daniel Grao     Inma Cuesta     

Dario Grandinetti     Michelle Jenner     Priscilla Delgado     Blanca Parés

          

          Beautiful stories don’t have to be happy all the time.  Young Julieta (Ugarte) is typical in her openness to new experiences and lust for life.  She meets and falls in love with a man on a train, and although there are frictions, they love each other and have a child, Antía (Delgado, Parés), who is close to both her parents.  But over time, a tragedy happens, and Antía has to devote much of her time to her mother, to the point that she as a teenager begins to feel trapped; whereupon she decides to attend a “camp” for three months.  When Julieta (Suárez) goes to pick her up, the cult-like camp counselor tells her that Antía has already left and does not want her mother to contact her.  Many years go by and Julieta only hears about her daughter once in a brief, chance encounter on the street with an old friend of Antía’s.

          The film says something about mother-daughter relationships and the chance events that affect them, along with feelings people have about such events, for instance, blame and guilt.  Pedro Almodóvar possesses a lightning rod kind of sensitivity toward women and their experiences, which he captures in so many of his films.  Here in Julieta (based on the short stories of Alice Munro, who likewise captures the essence of women), he shows their capriciousness (getting engaged with and disengaging from men), the kinds of wedges that may come between them and those close to them (often unexpressed but deep resentments), and the pain of separation and loss (whether from death or estrangement). 

          Despite its truthfulness and engaging story, Julieta is not one of Almovódar’s greatest films; but it is well directed, and Emma Suárez and supporting actors Grao, Cuesta, and Grandinetti deliver very fine performances. Suárez has to transform her younger, vivacious personality through major grieving and finally into an attractive older woman, still open but at peace.

Women transitioning through life, making adaptations to accommodate to hardship.

Grade:  B                                                By Donna R. Copeland