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Parallel Mothers

Posted on May 2, 2022May 5, 2022 by Village Vidiot

“Parallel Mothers,” in Spanish, subtitled, May 2, 2022 (2021), DVD.  This Pedro Almodovar vehicle could have been a schmaltzy melodrama, but instead he turns it into a remarkably sensitive, thoughtful, and important film.  And motherhood is one of his favorite topics.  It truly makes the personal political and the political profoundly personal.  The magnificent Penelope Cruz is Janis, an older single woman, about to become a single mom and happy to become a mother.  She shares a room with Ana, a younger single-mom filled with much less joy.  Both newborns experience difficulties at birth and are taken away for observation before being returned to their respective mothers.  You can see where this is going and what a lesser writer/director, or even a younger Almodovar, might have done with this.  Instead, he fuses love, choices, pain, and tragedy with sexuality, and, most brilliantly, with the great coverups of Spanish history and the loss of understanding by many of 21st century Spanish youth.  The past, present and future combine with true emotional power.  Sadly, the DVD does not contain any features demanding viewing, so you’ll be fine catching this on a streaming service.  As ever, Cruz is a force of nature with brilliant, controlled and powerful acting.  When Almodovar really focuses on it, he’s a true master.  See this one.

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