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

EVERYBODY KNOWS (TODOS LO SABEN)

Penelope Cruz     Javier Bardem     Ricardo Darin     Barbara Lennie

     Oh, what a tangled web of secrets in this extended (2¼ hour) mystery.  Lots of characters within a family are thrown at us at once, making it difficult to keep track of who is who, although the main characters, Laura (Cruz) and Paco (Bardem) are obvious from the start. Alejandro (Darin), Laura’s husband, only enters during the last half of the story.

     We see Laura and her two children, Irene and Diego, being picked up by Laura’s sister Ana in Spain, a place where Laura grew up.  They have come from Argentina for Ana’s wedding, a huge affair in a small village.  As more and more relatives are introduced, it becomes confusing again as to who everyone is. But they’re all in a festive spirit, and Irene pairs up with a local, attractive Felipe.  She is a daredevil driving his motorbike on country roads with him on the back trying to caution her.  This will be a theme in their brief time together.

     The wedding takes place within a sea of fast-moving images, lots of drinking, dancing, and hilarity, and at one point, the lights go out in a thunderstorm. Even before the cake is served, Irene has become woozy and is taken up to bed.  The next morning, she has vanished, with clippings from a newspaper left on the bed, telling the story of a kidnapping years earlier.

     Before long, Laura is getting messages from the perpetrators demanding a huge amount of ransom money.  Of course, Laura is beside herself, and since her husband stayed home in Argentina, she turns to Paco, an old childhood friend, who now owns a winery.  Curiously, his wife, Bea, begins receiving the same messages as Laura.

     What follows is the unearthing of family secrets and past family resentments as they try to figure out where Irene is and whether she is alive, since they’ve been forbidden to go to the police.  Complicating the picture, Irene has asthma and is presumably without her medication.

     The Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, is known for his detailed dramas in which he explores human traits in complex dilemmas.  These often have ethical/moral binds the characters have to work through.  Everybody Knows seems not quite up to his previous work in About Elly, A Separation, The Salesman, and The Past, but he is remarkable in producing a Spanish language film with well-known Spanish actors—without knowing the language at the outset.  The film opened the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or.  It resembles About Elly in its theme of kidnapping, but the gossip and secrets are within a family rather than among friends, and there are other differences.  In this film, one is left with additional questions and musings that are not addressed in the end.

     Cruz and Bardem are revered actors who give exemplary performances, and this is no exception.  Ricardo Darin is an award-winning actor from Argentina whose acting here is entirely convincing and appealing.

Asghar Farhadi continues to intrigue/puzzle us with his human dramas.

Grade:  B+                                        By Donna R. Copeland

LOVING PABLO

Javier Bardem     Penelope Cruz     Peter Sarsgaard

    Despite its title, this film is not essentially about Pablo Escobar; based on the TV anchorwoman Virginia Vallejo’s memoir about her love affair with him, it covers her gradual realization of who he actually was and the ways in which their relationship affected her life.  In the beginning, she is so charmed by him and impressed with his philanthropic goals, she says to herself she doesn’t care how he makes his money.  But after his dangerous operations become more and more obvious, disillusion sets in.

     My understanding of the public’s continual fascination with Escobar through the years (as shown by the popularity of movies and TV series about him—such as El Patron, Paradise Lost, The Infiltrator, and Narcos, as well as more than 15 books—has more to do with interest in the risky business of selling drugs—especially in a cartel—rather than in the man himself.  Penelope Cruz as Virginia narrates much of the film in a voice-over, so it is clearly from her point of view.

     In this sense, Loving Pablo falls far short of previous renditions of the famed drug lord because it really is about the romance, and doesn’t get much into Pablo’s business dealings.  There are definitely very violent scenes (and one notable distribution scene that takes place on a blocked highway) meant primarily to illustrate what made Virginia Vallejo anxious, but these scenes are not explained very well, and Pablo (Bardem) is shown much of the time as a passionate lover and family man and his brief flirtation with politics.   

     The affair lasted for five years, but the movie omits some events and insights that could have made it more compelling.  For instance, there was the impression that Escobar was using Vallejo’s television popularity to advance his standing in the country and provide him with a philanthropic cover to conceal his drug dealing.  Second, one reason for their break-up was his becoming so incensed when he learned that she had other lovers, he refused to see her again despite her wish to reunite.  Finally, little is made of the fact that Escobar was married, although there are a couple of scenes where his wife expresses her discontent with the situation.

     As an account of an extra-marital romance, there is little of interest here, so viewers expecting more of the Pablo Escobar story will be disappointed.  As fine actors, Bardem and Cruz elevate the film to make it a little more entertaining, but there is not much of a reason to see the film. 

Pablo Escobar’s five-year romance with a popular television personality and what came of it.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Kenneth Branagh     Penelope Cruz     Willem Dafoe     Judi Dench     Johnny Depp     Michelle Pfeiffer

Daisy Ridley     Leslie Odom, Jr.     Josh Gad     Derek Jacobi     Olivia Colman

            Murder on the Orient Express should be an exciting, engaging, production of a beloved author’s work (Agatha Christie).  Kenneth Branagh, more acclaimed as an actor than a director, fills both roles here, but is not exemplary in either, and perhaps the script (Michael Green) bears some of the responsibility.  A good detective story subtly plants clues, explicates the detective’s reasoning process, and guides the reader along in the story.  But the story here comes across as too convoluted to make sense.  I found a number of problems in this production, foremost being Branagh as Poirot, a role stamped in my mind as a David Suchet character.  Although Branagh attempts to convey the preciseness and impressive deductive abilities of Poirot, these simply do not come across clearly; they’re too English (rather than Belgian), and rather than a neat mustache, Branagh sports what looks like a gray rag across his upper lip. 

            Many of the first scenes on the inside of the train are hazy, dark and difficult to discern what is taking place, despite the work of talented production designer, Jim Clay, and cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos. 

            The fault cannot be in the stars; the cast for this film being a large group of highly accomplished actors, including Branagh, along with Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Willem Dafoe, Leslie Odom, Jr., Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley, and Olivia Colman.  Johnny Depp is on the screen only briefly, but plays his role well.

            The plot adheres loosely to the novel, in which a group of passengers board the Orient Express in Istanbul bound for numerous European stations along the way; but the train derails in a storm, and the passengers are stranded until repairs can be made.  During this time, a murder is committed, and with Poirot on board, he is called upon to solve the case, despite his being on holiday.  Earlier, he had been approached by the victim, asking for his protection, because the man was convinced that someone was out to kill him.  The man wants to prevent a murder (his) before it happens.  Poirot refuses for reasons he states very clearly.  When the murder does take place, Poirot must solve the crime, which is the only intriguing part of this film, but delivered in a way that is hard to follow with the flurry of names and historical events.

This film seems to be a big miss for an Agatha Christie story.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland