'Parallel Mothers' is dedicated to women, but important to all viewers
Miscellaneous / / February 02, 2022
The picture of Pedro Almodovar pleases with the magnificent game of Penelope Cruz and a touching story.
On February 3, a new work by the famous Spanish director Pedro Almodovar will be released on Russian screens. The two-time Oscar winner and singer of matriarchy has been very prolific in recent years: for example, in 2019 an almost autobiographical and very graceful picture "Pain and Glory", in 2020 the author conquered the Venice Film Festival with the short film "The Human Voice" with Tilda Swinton.
"Parallel Mothers" was also presented in Venice, but a year later. Moreover, the work opened the review and received a nine-minute standing ovation, and Penelope Cruz, who played the main role, was awarded the Volpi Cup. Alas, the path to Russian distribution turned out to be too long, but still Almodovar's film is worth watching on the big screen.
With a completely traditional melodramatic basis, the plot of "Parallel Mothers" captures the important theme of heredity and knowledge of one's roots. And at the same time, it shows the viewer the fate of very realistic heroines who destroy screen clichés about motherhood.
"Parallel Mothers" talk about imperfect people - as in life
Photographer Janice (Penelope Cruz) dreams of conducting excavations in her hometown to find the bodies of executed relatives buried in a mass grave. On this issue, she consults with the archaeologist Arturo (Israel Elehalde), with whom she soon begins an affair.
Time passes, Janice is already in the hospital waiting for the appearance of an unplanned child. There she meets the underage Ana (Milena Smith). Girls almost simultaneously give birth to daughters, and then exchange phones to support each other in the future. But the circumstances of the next meeting will be very strange.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the topic motherhood - central, if not fundamental in the work of Almodovar. In most of his films, the director mainly reveals and works on female characters, and the roles of men in these stories are vanishingly small. "Parallel Mothers" can be considered almost the apotheosis of this approach. In addition to the occasional flashing Elehalde (although by the end his character will turn out to be unexpectedly important), the whole plot is built exclusively on the fate of mothers in all their diversity.
This is not at all surprising. It is enough to look into the biography of the director (or include the mentioned film "Pain and Glory") to make sure: all his formation as a person and as a creator took place under the tutelage of the female part families. Therefore, the fathers in the works of Almodóvar are someone who is always busy, or even completely disappeared.
But in this case, something else is important. In the new film, the author gives voice to mothers who can hardly be called ideal or even good. In response to Janice's typical words that she didn't plan pregnancy, but still glad, Ana will directly answer: "But I'm sorry." Yes, and the main character herself will repeatedly commit acts that clearly do not correspond to stories about “happy motherhood”. She does not realize in the finale that her daughter, the main and best thing that fate sent her, will not change her life. But he will understand something else, but more on that later.
It looks especially interesting against the background of clichéd melodramatic turns that Almodovar seemed to have spied on in soap operas. The main plot twists can be guessed in the first third of the action. And the traumatic circumstances of childbirth are even too banal: Anya is too early to have a baby, and Janice is clearly affected by the passage about the ticking clock.
But in Parallel Mothers, it is not the surprises that matter, but the reactions of the heroines themselves. They may first commit unseemly acts in order to save the child, and then simply understand that they have a different goal in life.
It is on this ambiguity that the whole emotional component of the picture rests. Often, when watching one of the main, and especially secondary characters, one wants to immediately accuse one of indifference or callousness. And then think: are they really to blame? No wonder Ana Teresa's mother (Aitana Sanchez-Gijón) is added to the two main characters. She leaves the girl alone with the child, taking up her acting career. At the same time, Teresa provides her daughter with the most comfortable conditions - she simply does not want to give up her own life. True, it later turns out that her cruelty manifested itself much earlier and in more tragic circumstances. Arturo’s fault is only that he can’t read minds: if he is told “do not call', he really stops doing it.
It sounds trite, but every hero has flaws, but any of them deserves forgiveness. After all, "Parallel Mothers" is not a story of condemnation, let alone punishment. This is a film about finding one's place. Which, as it turns out, can be found more in the past than in the present.
The film reminds us how important the connection with the roots is
It is likely that some viewers will be hurt by the strange fragmentation of the film. As if Almodovar is trying to fit two stories into one picture, and they do not stick together well. The fact is that against the background of the main melodramatic plot, the director tells in detail biography Janice: many of her relatives were shot by the Francoists, and the girl was raised by her grandmother. And in one of the first scenes, for about 2 minutes, there are just photos of these people and the heroine Cruz talks about each of them.
Similar episodes will appear throughout the action, and by the end they will completely turn into the main plot. A skeptical audience may even slip the idea that Almodovar simply did not have enough script for full timing and he shot an additional piece on a completely different topic.
But, although it is worth recognizing that the historical inserts in the picture really look unnatural, they are simply necessary for the main statement of the director. Indeed, in fact, Pedro Almodovar is trying to explain a truth that has been slightly forgotten in the modern world: without knowing the roots, it is difficult to understand oneself and build a future. That is why Janice is so obsessed with looking for long-decomposed bodies. According toPenelope Cruz on motherhood, director Pedro Almodovar and life / GQ Penelope Cruz herself, the director wanted to show that what happens in a small apartment can happen on a different scale in the country, and even in the world. And it is the desire to understand her story that makes Janice stop deceiving others: she does not want kinship or heredity remained at least some secrets.
Moreover, Almodovar, like all recent years, tells this story unobtrusively. He does not force the viewer to one hundred percent agree with his vision and immediately run to get acquainted with great uncles. This idea can also be taken metaphorically, as simply an attempt to come to terms with one's (and common) past. After all, there is Ana, whose fate is, on the contrary, to break away from a traumatic experience.
The play of actresses in Parallel Mothers can be watched endlessly
For Pedro Almodovar, the theme of motherhood mentioned earlier is almost inextricably linked to the main actress of his cinema. They cooperate with Penelope Cruz for the eighth time, and their joint work became the main in the career of both. Even in secondary roles, Almodovar gave Cruz the most thoughtful and subtle images, remember at least the picture “All about my mother». And in 2019, the director finally gave in and showed in Pain and Glory the most honest declaration of love for the actress: he invited Cruz to play his own mother, Francisco Caballero. The latter, by the way, also often appeared in the early works of Almodovar, but, alas, in 1999 she was gone.
With all the talents and beauty of Penelope Cruz, there is hardly anyone who shoots her just as gracefully and with such sincere warmth. In "Parallel Mothers" Almodovar completely arranges a solo performance of the actress, giving her dozens of completely different and very complex episodes. Here is Janice the star: she photographs people, while she herself looks better than the models. But she is already pale and tired, preparing for childbirth. Bed scenes, emotional dialogues, communication with relatives - Cruz everywhere needs to be a little different and at the same time not fall out of the general image. Even Cooking this movie is a real art.
But what is most surprising, it is in Parallel Mothers that you can feel especially strongly how important the ensemble cast is. You can praise Cruz as much as you like, but she really blossoms in joint scenes with a young Milena Smith. The latter is considered an aspiring actress, but already for her feature debut Walk the Line by David Victori, she received a nomination for the Spanish Goya Award. It was after this picture that Pedro Almodovar noticed her.
The appearance, behavior and even the acting style of the two main actresses provides the film with contrast: the soft Janice teaches the angular and nervous Ana Cook, care for a child, and generally live. Their opposite in everything seems to reflect the rich red and green tones that the director loves so much.
And already against their background, no less textured actresses flash in the endless roles of girlfriends, mothers and aunts. There is very little space for men here, and this, by the way, is the main reason to watch the film for them. We'll have to think again: where were the fathers, husbands and brothers all this time?
"Parallel Mothers" will not come as a surprise to long-time fans of Almodóvar's work. He still talks gracefully about private life, women, and unexpectedly found kindred spirits. Except that this time he draws an analogy with the fate of entire countries. Yes, perhaps the picture will seem too moralistic to someone. But still, the aesthetics and the magnificent play of the actors compensate for all the moralizing and dissonance of the plot.
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