Parallel Mothers (2021, Pedro Almodóvar's latest)

[Small Man Big Horse]

Despite once being a huge fan I have to admit to not having seen the last couple of Almodóvar's films as the reviews were mixed, but this has been praised as a return to form so I had high hopes I'd enjoy it, but just feel quite perplexed by it. It's bookended by Janis (Penelope Cruz) wishing to find the mass grave her great-grandfather was buried in after being killed in the Spanish Civil War, but the main meat is Janis falling pregnant,

Spoiler alert

giving birth, connecting with Ana (Milena Smit) the young woman who shared a hospital room with her, and eventually finding out their babies were switched at birth. That's a strong idea for a film, especially as Janis's child dies and she chooses not to initially tell Ana what happened, but the whole thing feels very emotionally distanced, the way the character's react to the various events seems oddly unaffecting, and then there's a weird kind of okay ending for everyone while they look at the skeletons of those killed in the war and I'm not really quite sure what Almodóvar was aiming for.

[close]

It kept my interest throughout, which is something I guess, but ultimately I was left feeling underwhelmed. 6.3/10

[peanutbutter]

Despite once being a huge fan I have to admit to not having seen the last couple of Almodóvar's films as the reviews were mixed, but this has been praised as a return to form

His last film got extremely strong reviews, has it retroactively been downgraded? I thought it was pretty good, def had the kind of energy I want from him.

Haven't seen the new one but what I've seen of the reception seems very similar to Julieta and Broken Embraces (i.e. not a dud but going through the motions)

[Small Man Big Horse]

His last film got extremely strong reviews, has it retroactively been downgraded? I thought it was pretty good, def had the kind of energy I want from him.

Haven't seen the new one but what I've seen of the reception seems very similar to Julieta and Broken Embraces (i.e. not a dud but going through the motions)

Ah, I'd somehow forgotten about Pain & Gain getting good reviews and was thinking of those preceding it.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

The amount of use of Apple products in this one is staggering. Almost every scene taking place in Madrid looks like something out of a recent Habitat catalog. And, as usual, Almodovar has some blatant disregard for factuality.

Spoiler alert

The family of the young girl didn't report the rape to the police not to have their reputation hit. But, as stated repeatedly, she was underage and her name would have been redacted, unless the Spanish law is very different from other European countries.

[close]

I was similarly taken out of Volver when they decide to bury the father INSIDE the freezer he was kept in, which forces Cruz and her daughter to shovel tons of dirt, in the dark, while when they fill the hole, there's not even a mound (but they could have thrown the dirt in the river).

I also thought that the whole character of the actress mother who's self absorbed about her career was ultimately predictable and underdeveloped. Almodovar already wrote such a character better.

As you've said, the elements about the Spanish Civil War would have made for something really strong if they had been woven with the story instead of merely bookending it.

[cacciaguida]

Very solid film, if not his best. Also a reminder that Penelope Cruz is a tremendous actor.

It's shame that her legacy outside of Spain will probably center on her more frivolous English-speaking roles rather than her Almodóvar collaborations where she is consistently excellent.

[holyzombiejesus]

Despite once being a huge fan I have to admit to not having seen the last couple of Almodóvar's films as the reviews were mixed

Me too. In fact, I've not seen one of his The Skin I Live In and the people I know who like film are quite sniffy about him nowadays. Have people just got bored of his shtick or haven't the recent films been any good? I'm So Excited looked sooooo bad.

[sevendaughters]

I'm So Excited is knowingly and aggressively frothy. It's an exercise in style and I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off. Deep? No. I like it though.

Maybe he's not at his Volver/Bad Education peak but I think his films are still very good. I think when you're just knocking quality out for 30 years it is easy for people to get jaded but it's not as if he's making post-2000s Woody Allen films here. They've all got something to say.

[zomgmouse]

I liked this a lot, definitely in the top half of his filmography. Something about the soapy melodramas he creates is very alluring.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I got round to watching this last night and enjoyed it. Although it's one of those ones where I think I'll be thinking about it a while and my views will improve as I went to sleep thinking 'it's good but not his best' and woke up a few times in the night and was thinking about it.

The subtitle track I had on mine might've been translated by a Spaniard with good English skills rather than a professional translator though, the quality of translation was generally very good (especially if my suspicion is correct) but there were odd quirks with referring to everyone as 'he' irrespective of gender and on one of the screens where she's scrolling through the DNA tests there's a subtitle comment that basically says 'oh I don't know, medical stuff'.