Parallel Mothers, 2021.
Written and Directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
Starring Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Rossy de Palma, Daniela Santiago, Julieta Serrano, Ainhoa Santamaría, Adelfa Calvo, and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón.
SYNOPSIS:
Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, middle-aged, unrepentant and happy; Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.
Revered filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has something more ambitious on his mind than telling a story of juxtaposed motherhood. At its core, Parallel Mothers is concerned with exploring what makes a family and how that family both connects to the past and will flow into future generations, blood-related or not. In that regard, history and the present-day itself are placed against one another side-by-side with simmering anger boiling underneath the progressing story until it finally explodes with one of the most profound, inspiring, and emotionally impactful pieces of closing text ever to grace a film.
War crimes were committed during the Spanish Civil War, and Spain seemingly has yet to fully grapple with those atrocities and do what’s necessary to heal the pain as much as humanly possible. Enter middle-aged photographer Janis (an incredible Penélope Cruz, tapping into the raw psychological disturbance demanded of her throughout the narrative’s twist and turns that test and threaten to redefine her in complicated and questionable but deeply empathetic ways) whose great-grandfather was among the many men dragged from their homes and murdered, tossed into a mass grave that has yet to be excavated.
Janis never met her great-grandfather, but an activist at heart (at one point, she hearteningly sports a shirt exclaiming “we should all be feminists”), she has decided it’s time to unearth the remains. Fortunately, Janis currently has a no-strings-attached romantic fling with a client and forensic anthropologist Arturo (Israel Elejalde playing another layered character with flaws that are decidedly not judged in favor of a more levelheaded reading) who agrees to put in the work to receive a permit to go through with the excavation.
The couple also has a baby on the way as the economically tight editing from Teresa Font cuts to the steamy conception to the maternity ward. This is also where Parallel Mothers shifts into its titular advertised plot, with Janis, who is now single but spirited, gracious, and excited to have her first child, meeting teenager Ana (Milena Smit turning in some excellent work as a relative newcomer, tasked with juggling everything from fear, uncertainty, trauma, familial baggage, and a curious balancing of maturity and immaturity as a result from this tough life), also single and terrified to have a baby. Further complicating matters for Ana is her lack of a solid support system, with her mother more interested in rolling with her last shot at becoming an actor. In contrast, Janis’ editor visits all smiles and couldn’t be more of a positive influence. This, too, is also not judged, as Pedro Almodóvar admirably refuses to vilify anyone.
That creative choice is paramount to what gives the following soap opera melodrama swerves a sense of human worth clinging onto emotionally. There’s no way around that Parallel Mothers consistently strains credibility, but when done so with warmth and sincerity in straightfaced exploring who these people are and how it affects them, the absurd no longer feels absurd. Carefully crafted writings such as this allow one to overcome such barriers. And while there are nitpicks to be had here and there about certain plot conveniences or how the smaller and more immediately personal picture ties into the large-scale all-encompassing history lesson that leaves its mark in a hauntingly beautiful way, the central performances here are forces of nature also beating out such shortcomings. The interior production design is also colorfully exquisite, as are the various photoshoots we get to see and the general aesthetically pleasing architecture of Spain itself.
The babies are simultaneously born, leaving Janis and Ana to go their separate ways, but not without exchanging phone numbers. Janis needs a more responsible babysitter, whereas Ana needs someone that will be there for her considering her lack of experience and current emotional crisis. As more is revealed, Janis also comes to need something from Ana that’s impossible to give (a notion heightened by an eerie score from Alberto Iglesias). Not every aspect of this intricate bond works (there’s at least one element that feels slightly underdeveloped), but Pedro Almodóvar’s statements about family, history, and generational trauma gradually become more moving with every scene. No matter how one feels about the journey there, the ending pulls everything together for one unforgettably poetic final scene. Parallel Mothers is achingly tender, uplifting, and presents its melodrama with dignity and heart.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
