Parallel Mothers (Almodovar 2021)

RATE

  • Total voters
    10
i didn't get the point of this (at all) and actively started hoping for it to finish around the halfway mark.
am probably missing something but it gave me nothing.
 
I really liked this. Your usual Almodovar twists and turns against the backdrop of the bones of the Spanish Civil War. Lots of times I was worried about where it was going to go :D but ultimately it was a very satisfying watch.

Great performances from everybody too.
 
Enjoyed this a lot, although I didn't feel that it was quite top drawer Almodovar.

Cruz was phenomenal, as she always seems to be in his films. Maybe her best performance? I think Volver is the better film, but she's right up there here.

The first two thirds I was ready for a nine or ten, it was all so beguiling and I wasn't quite sure what direction it was going to take. However the last half hour or so let it down a bit, I didn't really buy the way it ultimately fell out, and the sub-plot with the buried relatives didn't really connect to the main story in a satisfying way, considering how much time it was given at the end. Unless I'm being very thick and missing a huge chunk of subtext.

But still very very good. I just love Almodovar really, so I'm more than primed to overlook his flaws and just luxuriate in his movies.
 
I was...so disappointed by this :( I was SO excited about seeing it, but it really was bottom-drawer Almodovar for me to the point where I'm unsure if I'd actually watch it again.

As others have noted, the two plot-lines didn't really MESH together particularly well, and as a result both sides felt rather underwritten to me.
The melodrama aspect was extremely sober and muted for Almodovar - not a bad thing, just a bit different - but also had the issue where every single twist and turn I saw coming a mile away. It just felt a bit uninspired, and I found how it all rapidly and neatly wrapped up similarly disappointing - I was hoping for a Cruz spiral into MADNESS in the final third, but instead the film veered away completely and focused on the other storyline.

I really wish he'd either made a
baby-swap
melodrama, and really gone ALL OUT with it - like I said, Cruz spiralling and a proper climax to the story could have been fantastic! Or alternatively, I wish he'd gone all out and made a Spanish historical drama, focusing on the graves, the villagers and telling the story via flashbacks etc.
As it stands neither aspect of the film worked brilliantly for me. The main story was FINE, and I was happy watching it (I would NEVER not enjoy dipping into his world and characters) but it felt a tad underwritten both plot and character-wise.

It's worth saying also that I'm SUCH an Almodovar fanboy that I'm always going to be unnecessarily critical of his work, and this film certainly wasn't BAD in any way.
Cruz was incredible, possibly a career-best performance, and Milena Smit was full of potential as the blue-eyed, full-lipped support. I wish the film had found more time to explore her relationship with her parents.

Fabulous of course to see so many cameos (Daniela Santiago!), especially Rossy getting one of her more extended of cameo appearances :disco: Again her character showed potential, but was underwritten (where were the one-liners?)

I don't even know where I'd rank it in his canon. Dark Habits is the only other of his films I don't like much, and I'd still absolutely rewatch that any time given the chance :D
 
Last edited:
I went to see this last night after going out for some tapas and on the whole liked it, though in a completists only kind of way. The cinema was full which selfishly I wasn’t thrilled about, especially as the person beside me was rustling and crunching their way through peanut M&Ms throughout.

The film itself was a little messy. I agree the exhumation story is probably a whole other film. I’d also say there’s potentially a whole other film that could be based around Ana’s mother. The performances were all excellent. I saw everything that was going to happen well in advance. I also thought Janis rebounded remarkably well and quickly from events, one sleepless night seems to have worked a tonic.

Anyhow, it’s a generous 7 from me.
 
I liked it, I didn’t love it.

Cruz was magnificent (as ever) and the scenes with the reveals- both in terms of the emails and the crucial scene with Ana- were Oscar worthy for me. She was absolutely crushed and you felt every step of it.

I didn’t warm to Ana at all. I didn’t get the whole lesbian subtext added much to anything either.

However, I also thought Rossy de Palma was really good in her limited role- and, of course, it’s always a JOY to see her! Was a shame he couldn’t persuade any more of the old gang to appear as cameos in the old women Janis visits.

The subplot seemed very tacked on. It was almost as if he wanted to make the film about the graves but felt he couldn’t without a more “usual” Almodovar story arc. Weird.

7/10. Definitely not up there with his best and a serious step down from both Pain & Glory and Julieta.
 
Wasn’t the Janis “rebound” after a time lapse? I presumed that was the case…
 
I'm SHOCKED to read that you consider yourself an Almodóvar fan @AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAaaaA and you rate Dark Habits so low (also considering the amount of VERY LUKEWARM films Almodóvar has knocked out in his long career). It's PURE ALMODÓVAR!
 
Well I’m glad I’m not the thick one who didn’t get the context or how the two plots were linked. It was fine, just not his best.

I wish he’d done a full movie about the history and mass graves not simply tacked onto this.
 
I pretty much feel the same. An enjoyable but not all too compelling story, Pen at her very best and a too slight connection between the two plot strands. It was quite limited in terms of location and cast so I did wonder if Covid restrictions played a part in the filming of this.

Janis flat was gorgeous though. As was Ana mother's for that matter :disco:
 
Ok. I have a free ticket to see this at the cinema tomorrow night, BUT I also have a snide digital copy that I can watch at leisure at home.

Is it something that should be seen on a big screen?
 
I loved loved loved this film!

It was my first trip to the cinema in 8 years (I've been making sure I find things to keep myself occupied recently) and I had the whole screen to myself. Not a single other person in there! I'd go to the cinema a lot more if it was always like that.
 
jyxz said:
Ok. I have a free ticket to see this at the cinema tomorrow night, BUT I also have a snide digital copy that I can watch at leisure at home.

Is it something that should be seen on a big screen?
Click to expand...

It’s Almodovar. You should ALWAYS see his films on the big screen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top Bottom