Parallel Mothers Review

Parallel Mothers is a Spanish drama that sees the acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and Penelope Cruz team up for the seventh time. This time Almodóvar creates a personal drama and an examination of issues affecting Spain.

Janis Martínez (Cruz) is a middle-aged photographer who becomes pregnant after having an affair with Arturo (Israel Elejalde). Ana Ferreras (Milena Smit) is a teenager who Janis shares a room in the maternity ward. Their fates end up getting intertwined due to them giving birth on the same day.

Almodóvar is a director who needs little introduction. He has made films like Bad Education, Volver, and The Skin I Live In. His body of work range from drama to comedy to thrillers and many of his films are considered the pinnacle of Spanish cinema. Parallel Mothers was no exception because it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and earned Cruz the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and she has been nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Many critics in the US placed the film on their best films of 2021 lists. It was a film that had a lot of buzz around it.

The main plot of the film was about Janis and Ana giving birth at the same time and Janis discovering their babies were switched at birth. This story had the potential to be soapy. Soaps like Eastenders, Hollyoaks, and Home and Away have had baby swap storylines. It shows that there’s a fine line for a story to be compelling drama or absurd entertainment.

Parallel Mothers was a character-driven film. It centred on the relationship between Janis and Ana and the impact of Janis knowing the truth about their babies. Cruz excelled in her role as she goes from a reassuring figure when she meets Ana at the hospital, to having to face an unimaginable moral dilemma. Janis tried to do the right thing for Ana whilst also trying to have her cake and eat it. Cruz’s face can say so much as it was clear thoughts were racing in Janis’ head.

Parallel Mothers had a great setup for a thriller. Almodóvar is known for making twisty films and Parallel Mothers was no exception. Parallel Mothers does go in some unexpected direction. Like The Skin I Live In, Parallel Mothers keeps audiences guessing. The uncertain factors were Janis’ motivations and what would Ava’s reaction be. Alberto Iglesias deserves a lot of praise of his score because the music he provided heightened the emotion and tension in many scenes.

Parallel Mothers was a thematic film. There was the personal story and a broader look at the impact of the Spanish Civil War. They both shared a theme: the lingering shadows of the past. Ana’s mother, Teresa (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), reflected on her role in Ana’s upbringing and admits she was a bad mother. Ana and Teresa had a fought relationship which Teresa was trying to repair, but it required a lot of work. Ana was passed around like a ball by her parents which forced the teen to become more independent.

The Spanish Civil War storyline showed how it affected Spain, even 80 years after the event. It led to a generation of people being raised by single mothers because the men were rounded up by the nationalists and murdered. Janis never knew her grandfather because of this and many people in her hometown just wanted closure.

The biggest issue for Parallel Mothers was that it came across as disjointed. The third act felt like it came from another film. The majority of Parallel Mothers was a personal story about Janis and Ana and then it takes sharp left turn. The storyline involving the Spanish Civil War was set up right at the beginning of the film because Janis talked to Arturo about excavating a field where it was believed that civilians were believed to be buried and the archaeology storyline was in the background, but it doesn’t help make the final act feel out of place. It looked like Almodóvar was trying to fit a grander theme into a smaller drama, and it doesn’t work.

Cruz and Iglesias deserve all the praise they have been getting and for the most part Almodóvar made compelling drama. It was a shame that the final act let the film down.