On PARALLEL MOTHERS

 When I was new to New York City, I went to see a foreign film. The 1987 film was LAW OF DESIRE from director Pedro Almodóvar. I have been an ardent fan of Almodóvar films ever since. I just saw his new film, PARALLEL MOTHERS, starring Penélope Cruz. Wow. What an excellent, intelligent melodrama. It's like classic 1950s Douglas Sirk melodrama good -- and the 2002 Sirk-inspired FAR FROM HEAVEN. As for Penélope Cruz, she is fantastic in this film. She serves up one of her best film performances as the top photographer. 

First of all, Hollywood could take some inspiration from Pedro Almodóvar who consistently has juicy roles for women. And not just "young" (20-something) women. PARALLEL MOTHERS has a main female character who is nearly 40, independent, an in-demand professional and still sexy. A good supporting role has a female character who is a lovely 47. There is also a young main female character. So many emotional twists and turns happen in PARALLEL MOTHERS that I do not want to give it all away. I'll just give you the basics. 

"So we're both single mothers," says Janis. She's a photographer and a feminist. She's nearly 40, unmarried, and just had her first child. She's overjoyed about that. She meets Ana, a young woman, also unmarried, who is not thrilled about just having had a baby. Janis extends a hand of friendship, gives Ana her number and tells her to call so they can talk. They bond. They gave birth in the same hospital on the same day.

It's Madrid in 2016. While Janis is trying to uncover some hospital information about her baby's birth, she's connected to a forensic expert. She's found the site of some land that is an unmarked grave. She believes that her great-grandfather is in that grave. He and others she has old photographs of were victims of the Franco fascist regime in the 1940s.

Both Janis and Ana must come to the truth about motherhood and about the history of their country. Here's a trailer.

Here's a clip with Penélope Cruz.

Milena Smit stars as the miserable yet strong Ana. I continue to be ardent Almodóvar fan. PARALLEL MOTHERS is a fascinating film, one of the best I've seen this year.