Composite Score: 83.93

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Rossy de Palma, Julieta Serrano, and Carmen Flores

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Writer: Pedro Almodóvar

Genres: Drama, Romance, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R for some sexuality

Box Office: $23.09 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Parallel Mothers is Pedro Almodóvar’s film about two single women who give birth at the same time in the same birthing room and the unique bond that forms between them as they become mothers. Penélope Cruz plays Janis – a successful photographer who is pushing forty and was raised by a single mother and then single grandmother, shaping her own views of motherhood. Milena Smit plays Ana – a seventeen-year-old victim of a gang rape who has only reconnected with her absent mother since becoming pregnant, giving her plenty of room to improve once the child is born. Almodóvar is able to skillfully pull great performances from both of his lead actresses while also telling a captivating story about motherhood, human connection, memory, and the history of Spain in the process. The film also received Oscar nominations for Penélope Cruz for Best Lead Actress and for Alberto Iglesias for Best Original Score, which plays hauntingly over the escalating dramatics between the two women. It is an excellent example of Almodóvar’s films in the context of the 21st century and definitely worth checking out.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Your enjoyment of Parallel Mothers is going to depend heavily on your ability to draw the parallels (no pun intended) between the story of Janis and Ana and their daughters and that of the history of fascism in Spain that Almodóvar seemingly wants to indicate with his film. The film’s final act is devoted heavily to connecting the film’s narrative with its historic themes, and I don’t know that it will be equally impactful for all audiences. For me, I was far more compelled by the story of the two women and their daughters and the mess of relationships that they find themselves in than I was by their tangential connection to the history of Spain and the Spanish Civil War. Maybe I don’t have enough context to grasp the brilliance of the connections between the two, but for me, it felt like two different stories that happened to be unfolding at different times between the same title card and credits.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Regardless of the thematic connections and your ability to connect the dots between the narratives, the story of Janis and Ana that is front and center for most of Parallel Mothers is deeply engrossing and very hard to turn away from. I had planned to split my viewing of this film into two sessions because it was late at night, but right when I was going to put it on pause, I found myself hooked by the melodramatic connections that Almodóvar laid between the two women. Each woman’s story is tragic in its own way, as is the tale of the budding relationship between them, but the film and characters do a good job of maintaining hope in the face of despair, never letting the tragedies of life keep them down for too long. As dark as things inevitably get in this film’s narrative, there is a hope that lingers when the credits roll that leaves you with a true feeling of faith in humanity after what you just watched. It’s glorious.

                Cruz and Smit also lend a huge hand in making the film so enthralling. Smit’s portrayal of Ana is excellent – she brings a subdued beauty to the role of teenage mother that allows her to flourish in the character. Her journey from the hospital room where she meets Janis to the tragedy that brings them together again to the strong maternal figure that she is by the film’s end all feel genuinely earned thanks to the actress’s great work. Cruz, as can be expected when she works with Almodóvar, brings her absolute A-game. The strength and emotionality of Janis is on full display – her passion for her work is equaled only by her drive to work out what is best for her daughter. Her performance serves as the emotional core of the film as well, ebbing and flowing with the audience in infectious fashion – fully earning that Oscar nomination.

                The story that Almodóvar places at the heart of Parallel Mothers is powered by his two leads – Cruz and Smit – and serves to enrapture the audience in such a way that the film’s place among the Greatest Films of All Time is undeniable. Some of the film’s other themes might feel a bit clunky to some viewers, but its heart and hope remain beautifully infectious. This film is currently available to stream with a Starz subscription or to rent on most other streaming platforms for anyone looking to watch it.