Parallel Mothers reviewed by Mark Kermode

[@adamiotime]

My great grandfather and all his brothers were massacred by the Nazis in a rural village in Poland, leaving my great grandmother and grandmother (who was 3 at the time) to deal with the trauma and horror of the aftermath. The story has been passed down by my mother to me, and the legacy of those murders continues to affect these women in my family. In this way, Almodovar's film really resonated with me-it perfectly illustrates the strength of women across generations. While men in these instances may be the murdered victims of war, women are the ones forced to suffer the consequences of such cruelty. Their lives are upended, and freedoms are lost. I loved the movie. Yes, I wish the civil war plot was stronger throughout the whole length of the film, but I got what Almodovar was trying to achieve. It was a beautiful message and a beautiful portrayal of women's strength.

[@davehatton3067]

If you've seen the film Arrival, a major part of the story is the quote 'There are no winners in war, only widows.' Resonates well here.

[@marisoltoledop]

I really recommend you the documentary The Silence of Others, that shows the struggle for find justice in Spain and the process of exhumation the mass graves.

[@65g4]

Well said

[@Gnator8t4]

I agree on the point the two plots didn't gel very well. There's a scene where the "Parallel Mothers" part of the story reaches an emotional peak before it suddenly returns to the excavating sub-plot and it kind of drags at the end. I did enjoy it quite a bit though, a solid drama!

[@fantasiazplatkami]

I agree 100% . Plus Penelope did not make a believable bisexual.

[@xyrildanmanuel783]

agreed! from the start of the movie, what's being shown was that the main theme of the movie was motherhood. but then it ended with the excavation scene and a quote about history which really confused me. this whole time i've been led to believe it was about mothers but the fact that it ended with that quote made it seem like the movie is actually more about the history aspect of its story instead of the motherhood

[@welshtoro3256]

@@xyrildanmanuel783 The entire film is about the war and, even more importantly, the period of Franco's dictatorship and its legacy today. The three mothers and their stories are metaphors for the political history which is being rerun today. Almodovar is on record about his fear of a return of the far right which enjoys a growing popularity in these uncertain times.

[@welshtoro3256]

I think it's a brilliant and entirely necessary film, coming, as it does, from Spain's greatest modern film director. Far too many people have said that it is a film about the intertwining lives of two mothers with the backdrop of the graves and Civil War. In my opinion, the film is all about the Civil War and, more importantly, the Franco years of repression (physical and mental), the inadequate process of Transition and the resurgence of the far-right who are vehemently opposed to the opening of the mass graves. As Almodovar is not, by his own words, a documentary film maker, he uses the device of the two women (three, if we count Anna's "apolitical" mother) as a vehicle to thread his own ideas and themes. It's a great film on many levels but the more you know about Spain the more interesting it is. Spain's painful modern history is powerfully captured with symbolism throughout the entire film. Throughout the film we pay witness to the clues he places to old and new, young and old, left and right. We start when Janis serves Arturo a plate of Iberico jamon cut from the leg held in place by the jamonero (ham stand) in her kitchen and not the shop bought variety. Later, when Janis is casually yet brilliantly preparing a tortilla (Spanish omelette), we discover that Anna, a whiz with a smart phone, has never even peeled a potato and has to be shown how to do so. The food clues and motifs continue until the end when the traditional sweet pastries are consumed in the old family home. The process of forgetting, or even caring about, the past is well represented in the young Anna. However, Anna's upbringing (Opus Dei) and trauma resonate with the continuation of reactionary, far-right, values to this day. Her own father, based in Granada (the home of Lorca) is more concerned with the family reputation than bringing the men guilty of her rape to justice. Today, the far-right in Spain are vocally hostile to those wishing to highlight gender violence as represented by her rapists (a possible reference to a current infamous case). Even the mix up of the children reminds us of the awful crimes during Franco, when children were removed from their mothers, put into orphanages and made to renounce their parents before being adopted by Francoist supporters. I also think the references to Lorca are very important. Lorca is the most famous missing person of the Civil War and was a prominent alternative figure. As a known homosexual with openly Liberal values he was loathed and despised by the Fascists. He was executed in 1936 in the Granada region and his murderers bragged that they shot him in the arse. His body has never been recovered. Lorca, like Almodovar, always created strong female characters in his plays which emphasized the position within Spanish, particularly, Andalusian society. The Spanish Republic granted full female emancipation, including divorce, during its short tenure. Franco reversed that and the female model promoted by the Dictatorship was that of home keeper and mother. Anna's parents (located in Granada) are obviously Opus Dei Catholics and therefore the descendants of Francoist support. Her mother, Teresa, brilliantly portrayed by Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, admits to having no maternal instinct toward the young Anna and wishing only to pursue her career in the theatre. Her lack of motherly interest may lay behind her divorce which could only be completed through a humiliating religious tribunal where she has to admit to being "a whore" for the divorce to be finalised. In her discussion with Janis she talks of her acting audition with reference to a role in a Lorca play and she later goes on the road with the theatre just as Lorca did. Anna's refusal to terminate her pregnancy by rapists reflects the values of the Dictatorship and her Opus Dei background when all abortion was illegal. Today, the Vox Party want to reverse abortion laws and to make it illegal just as in Teresa's time when birth control remained illegal as well. There is no division of plot in this movie. Almodovar portrays a society which is and has been, for a very long time, divided and parallel. It is a large portrait of Spain ("You better learn what country you live in" - Janis) and its internal tensions. Those tensions, which were never resolved by the 'Transition' to democracy, as well as a complete absence of reconciliation, are resurfacing again in Spain. The right wing want the past (and their guilt) to remain buried and the left want it opened along with the graves. Janis, Anna and Teresa are metaphors of the past and, just as importantly, the present.

[@kattahj]

I'm not Spanish and there were some things I missed, but yes, I felt that the storylines did gel much better than Mark gives it credit for, and that the political undercurrent was there the whole time, as you show. And also, of course, the message that you have to acknowledge the past to build a future, which I thought didn't need to be spelled out the way it was in the end, but evidently it did!

[@welshtoro3256]

@@kattahj I agree that the ending was very obvious but I think Almodovar must have felt it necessary just in case, especially for the international market and (again) a younger audience. The bottom line is that this is an Almodovar film which will never be a regular Civil War commentary. I think it is exceptionally subtle and pursues the ongoing dynamic of Spain which continues to be divided just as it was in 1931 to the end of the Civil War. Almodovar clearly makes his position known and I have no doubt that right wing Spaniards will hate this film.

[@henryjones8287]

Brilliant. Thank you for this post. I too didn't think that 'the two stories didn't gel' - the story about the mothers was clearly a metaphor, dense with symbolism and references; unfortunately, I was too ignorant of the political history to join all the dots. I think this movie was clearly made with an informed (possibly Spanish) viewer in mind - it's a shame that so many people were left feeling unsatisfied with the supposedly disjointed story threads, instead of being left wanting to learn more about the political and historical themes.

[@welshtoro3256]

@@henryjones8287 Thanks Henry. I think Parallel Mothers will be better appreciated in the fulness of time. Almodovar has said In interviews that the window of opportunity to talk about the entirety of the Civil War and subsequent dictatorship is closing. Anna is not aware of it and adopts an infantile attitude towards the past just as, unfortunately, many young people do. It has been a race in the past twenty years to get the victims that lived through it as to talk about it and in a few years time the window will be closed, as well as their witness, and buried for good. I know a lady in the south of Spain who remembers the day the Francoist forces came to her village when she was a child. She's in her 90s and the Spanish Peoples Party (PP) and the far right Vox Party want her and her witness to be extinguished. They do not want the world to know that their relatives were guilty of the most heinous crimes. That is why they have adopted every measure to stop the opening of the graves and the discussion of the past.

[@shapo001]

Thank you for a great, rich, study of the movie. I missed many, if not most, of the symbolism you pointed at and I very much appreciate your highlighting of that side of texture in the movie. I also thought that the movie was primarily about the Civil War but also what it represents, which is the clash between humanism and fascism. Through humanism life is rich and celebrated and disagreements and conflicts rooted in even the most difficult and traumatic experiences (loss of motherhood, loss of a child) are worked through based on compassion and a humanistic set of ethics, albeit through great emotional struggle and pain, but without resorting to violence. On the other hand in fascism there is no room for disagreement and compromise. The solution is swift: death. Followed by silence. Maybe that's why not equal amount of time is given to these two thematic strands in the movie -- humanism has so much more to offer and is so much richer than fascism. Also, as noted in another comment, women are shown as incredibly strong and emotionally powerful, as someone who can withstand devastating blows that one's life inevitably brings along and can still on one hand make ethical, rational decisions, and on the other, endure and persevere looking for justice.

[@ellenpasternack9750]

I thought the combination of the two plots worked well- in real life, we aren't concerned with one thing at a time with a neat beginning, middle and end. Our focus on things does ebb and flow, especially when there are long waits involved. Things come and go into our lives, and often domestic concerns do take over and consume all of our attention.

[@ajsapi]

I just saw it for the second time and I have to say, unfortunately, I couldn’t agree more. His last two movies have two of my favorite movie endings of all time. This one is bold, but for me falls flat. I’m glad he swings for the fences, but in this one I feel his judgment was off. I was not moved by anything in the war story. There seems to be a cultural context missing. And if Perdo wanted that ending to land, he needed to do a better job of bringing us into the fold

[@girafingo9280]

yes - a wonderful watching experience but with holes that become apparent afterwards.

[@SofiaH]

I think it will land with Spanish audiences but if I wasn't half-Spanish myself I'd have trouble understanding the Civil War plot

[@fantasiazplatkami]

The sad war memories had nothing to do with the modern scenes.

[@rubenssz]

Exactly. I wasn't moved by the war story at all, even with all the dialogue and exposition. Didn't understand why.

[@welshtoro3256]

I'm just coming back to this because I'm sure many Pedro fans might find it instructive. Take a look at my comment and responses. There's a lot going on in this film. It's extremely Spanish and painful. A very serious film.

[@65g4]

Personally i loved it. I dont see the bad things Mark sees. I really loved it.

[@welshtoro3256]

Agreed. It's an excellent work and very important in this moment in time. Have a look at my comment.

[@TheScoppie]

Same here. They don’t really get what the central message is - life is messy, death happens and it’s tragic, and history and the truth should be confronted no matter how painful.

[@ovandothack]

parallel mothers wasn’t selected as spain’s international entry at the oscars because they wanted to spotlight a director who isn’t as well known as almodovar is and give them an opportunity to be discovered

[@Canuckvik]

Id love it if someone can help me tie it all together. But im having a hard time connecting the story of the civil war and the mothers children. They feel so different to me. The only real connection to me is perhaps the idea of families seperated from loved ones. The emptiness you feel when someone is taken away from you and the inibility to move on from it. I wished it would have been more equal in both stories, having really half the movie be about the mothers and half about civil war. Because at the moment, the civil war bit felt rushed and just thrown in at the end. Although very very powerful still, it felt more like a sperate short film vs part of the movie. You know how sometimes you'll buy alcohol and as part of a special going on, theyll tie a smaller mini bottle of alcohol to the neck of the larger one. This is what the movie felt like. You got the main movie about the mothers, and hey for free we're gonna throw in the short film we made about the civil war.

[@welshtoro3256]

Hi Joey. take a look at my comment if you would like some insight. It does tie together.

[@nmaurok]

I felt so indifferent towards this movie, perhaps because it glosses over so much of its themes... It really dragged out in the middle

[@SamDavies94]

I've just got out the cinema and I feel Mark has hit the nail on the head with this review, the end scene felt like a political stance which was almost entirely unrelated to the melodrama between the two 'parallel mothers'. Almodovar, for me hasn't made anything as memorable as The Skin I Live In, since.

[@65g4]

Didnt you like Pain and Glory?

[@SamDavies94]

@@65g4 I didn't get s chance to see in the cinema, if it drops onto Mubi or Netflix I'll check it out

[@65g4]

@@SamDavies94 you should its great the best film he had done since Talk To Her

[@brendanlittle2498]

Very watchable movie but it never fully hit me emotionally. Everyone in the movie is good but I just was never quite invested enough in both parts of the movie.

[@lesley7634]

I loved this movie. I saw it as 2 parallel films, the babies and the civil war. The last scene, where the archeologists lie in the mass grave to show us, these were men too, was very moving. I would have preferred another actor to be the protagonist, not Ms Cruz, as she is too beautiful to play a 'normal' person and she bears little family resemblance to her 'aunts'. It's a casting problem. I know it's not a documentary.

[@DonostiGros]

I kept trying to find a connexion between the mothers' babies story and the Civil War, but couldn't. Then I thought perhaps this is about presenting a historic unresolved event to a new generation that has little if any idea of it. I have to agree with Kermode here, too many things: the mothers' stories, old sexist mentality, fluidity, trans… Still, I was very moved at the end, when the film went back to the Civil War story. I'm from Spain and this hit me hard.

[@welshtoro3256]

Hi William, please have a look at my comment if you would like to have some Spanish context. I hope you will find it interesting.

[@ImK4Os]

I loved it, until I realized there was a storyline about a civil war which I completely didn't realize

[@girafingo9280]

@mark - I saw the film last night and felt that by not interlacing the historical/fascism with the baby drama explicitly in a familiar narrative arc - i.e. two narratives running in parallel - Pedro actually gave us something unexpectedly flawed but with a fascinating design. One has to ask 'why' would he make this creative decision. Before I saw the film I expected the forensic archeology aspect of the film (which I had read about) to comprise at least 60-70% of the plot. In the end it accounted for a mere 10% of the plot. Perhaps he used it as a container of time for the other storyline to exist - as the whole story really revolves around the timeline set from the first scene - but then one could say it takes a highly intelligent and non-linear melodramatic turn which in turn becomes the emotional priority of the film. My personal take is that Almodovar is far too accomplished a filmmaker to make this kind of mistake and did it deliberately - by introducing and then re-introducing the forensic storyline - why? I don't know... - please ask him one day. Maybe the problem is we expect a Nolan-esque treatment of anything remotely 'parallel'?

[@ScremoSam1]

Maybe he did this to reflect the appetite for the Historical Memory law in Spain. Introduced by social democratic party with enthusiasm then covered up, defended and ignored for a decade under the Conservatives, and now experiencing a revival again with the return of the PSOE... Maybe a bit on the nose for Almodovar though

[@welshtoro3256]

Have a look at my comment. I think it's the most important film he's done in terms of Spain. The film is extremely rich with metaphors of the past Franco years and his legacy. Janis, Anna and Teressa and their story are metaphorical vehicles of that discussion and that is their purpose.

[@girafingo9280]

@@welshtoro3256 Brilliant review my friend - thanks for pointing that out.

[@boonyboony100]

Great review, and on many levels I agree, yet I wonder if perhaps the slightly un-full-throttled domestic story was actually intentional. What he intended was to bring greater force to the historic story by placing the two side by side? The dna kit scenes were a bit tedious, but the final moments suddenly dispelled every shadow and revealed everything in a great blaze of light. I thought this was a daring, and great, film.

[@welshtoro3256]

It is a great film. The DNA is important because it tells the story of all the children stolen by the Franco dictatorship. They were the children of supporters of the legitimate government. They were brainwashed to reject their biological parents before adoption to Franco supporters. The Spanish record of tracing this human rights outrage is far worse than that in Argentina or Chile. The entire thing was brushed under the carpet. Almodóvar touches on it in Bad Education.

[@EppyGibbon]

I think I liked it more than Mark, but I definitely agree with his review (& Simon's comments). There is a clumsiness and lack of balance to it, which is quite baffling, but I still got a lot out of it.

[@mrskbanbury]

I just got back from this movie and am really confused by Simon and Mark's reference to a "spaceship." Do you know what they were referring to? Not sure how I managed to miss it!

[@ianlexington]

@@mrskbanbury I'm pretty sure they're referring to the lesbian sex scene, since the two characters displayed no attraction to each other before that point, not even really a hint honestly. The spaceship I think was referencing Tilda Swinton's exit from the Dead Don't Die, as an example of something completely out of left field that makes no real sense.

[@mrskbanbury]

@@ianlexington thank you- that really helps!

[@kamaal_i]

@@mrskbanbury I think they were referencing Memoria starring Tilda Swinton

[@kamaal_i]

@@ianlexington The spaceship reference was referring to Memoria

[@davy91101]

I haven't seen the film yet, bit I must say that I have never seen an Almodovar film that wasn't worth seeing. His style has evolved over the years and it is fascinating to see how he approaches each film. I can think of no director, American or foreign, whose body of work deserves the high level of Almodovar. He is consistently fascinating, creatively diverse and in my estimation the greatest living director; others may disagree but he has maintained such a high level of achievement that I can think of no other director that can match his work.

[@aaalllexxx]

6:34 I'm sorry, what spaceship again?

[@ethanhughes7462]

Im sorry mark didn't enjoy it ad much. I think the key difference of the two stories were the themes of motherhood with Cruz's struggles over her child's identity and the theme of fatherhood with the other about the grave. I get the point that the mother side is more fully explored but I just think that was the area Almodovar wanted to explore most with the main theme of the film being absent parents and he shows the various ways in which they become that. I really enjoyed it.

[@charteredstreets]

Wrong wrong wrong wrong, wrong wrong wrong wrong. The connection between the historic/political and the personal is what made the film so powerful. The theme of family and maternal/genetic connection is unbelievably powerful - I spent half the movie with tears in my eyes. Yes it's melodramatic but what do you expect from Almodovar?

[@mikeyfocus3845]

100% - some viewers obviously wanted the link to be explicit, but that would have taken away the power of the main narrative. It was a complementary subtle side story that enriched the story of the two mothers. IMO, it has wonderful balance and pace and I wasn’t frustrated like many of the views expressed here. The connection between the past and the future (and the characters and us in the present) was so masterfully crafted

[@welshtoro3256]

I completely agree with both of you. I'd be interested to get your opinions about my comment.

[@Canuckvik]

I gotta say, I disagree with you. I think the connection between the two is slim and a mental leap the audience has to work out on their own. The civil war scenes were powerful absolutely and it elevated the film to me from a typical melodramatic film to something worth really discussing. I do appreciate the connection isn't spoon fed to you BUT, having said that, there is a balance to spoon feeding that I think this movie just didn't hit. It was close, but didn't quite hit that peak balance that would have gelled everything together a bit more. Perhaps if the civil war scenes were half of the runtime of the film I don't know. But hey that's my take, there is no right or wrong answer, it's all subjective. To me it didnt work, to you it did. But id really appreciate it and love if you can enlighten me a bit more on the connection between the two. This isnt a challenge or anything, im genuinly interested in hearing your take on how the two connect.

[@henryjones8287]

@@Canuckvik while I agree with the other posters, what you're saying is totally fair. Welsh Toro's comment on this thread goes into some really interesting analysis - I think that's what you're looking for.

[@EdwardOberon]

There are no bad Almodovar films

[@fantasiazplatkami]

Two storylines did not match. Plus what lost me was...would Ana who just lost her baby be so willing to take care of Penelope Cruz child???? It would be so emotionally hard.

[@cezartb]

I felt his maturity as a film maker sort of demanded the political/nonfictional story of Spain to be addressed. But I felt like he did it against himself. The transgressive and contradictory side of his characters did not fit into this movie, they rather undid the movie.

[@markpalmos]

I thought the mass graves bit was very poorly delt with. I had no care for this part of the story, it really seemed like a point Almadovar wanted to make and stuck it in... Digging up the past, digging into DNA, digging into the truth... HMMM. nah, it was poor IMO. Performances good, but the heavy duty music score seemed like a desperate attempt to make something of this misjudged movie. I'd have preferred nothing about the mass graves. I'd really have preferred it to be a bit of a camp comedy instead of it trying to be serious but then having a rom-com type happy-ish ending... with the protagonists getting what they want. It came across as heavy-handed, pretentious and actually a bit tiresome.

[@anju04aa]

I too feel both the plot lines on their own are perfect but running them parallely wasnt a wholesome experience….either it should have been an emotional drama or a political story but not interspersing both in the same…..the performances and color palette are wonderful though….

[@mrbertaro4822]

Disagree with kermode, loved this film.

[@migmikko]

I was expecting so much more from the movie and I was left so disappointed

[@riccagiaco]

I thought it was really bad, for Almodovar. The plot is risible and it drags on and on, without interest

[@Onmysheet]

Almadovor has been a hit and miss with me. Don't like his earlier films as Skin I Live In was the first movie I loved. And liked Pain & Glory too.

[@EdwardOberon]

Bad Education? La Ley del Deseo?

[@Onmysheet]

@@EdwardOberon Ok but didn't grab me.

[@endor8witch]

this is possibly pedro's weakest work. i don't get the link between the archeology excavation and the babies storylines. maybe i need another viewing but i lacks the depth that was in pedro's earlier works. the archaelogy story just was shallow and i wasn't invested in it as much.

[@welshtoro3256]

Take a look at my comment. I think it will change your mind about this film. It's extremely important in his output.

[@abangudienchanneltv4307]

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