Tropic Sprockets / Parallel Mothers

By Ian Brockway

“Parallel Mothers” is the 22nd film by the master Pedro Almodóvar. True to form, it is filled with sneaky mothers, passive males, handwringing and splashes of brilliant color. Though it has a tangled plot, there is rich nuance here and the director’s fans will be pleased.

Janis (Penelope Cruz) is a photographer obsessed by the Spanish Civil War. She asks Arturo (Israel Elejalde) to excavate several graves believing her great-grandfather will be found. They go to bed and have sex. Janis has a baby and she is a hospital mate to Ana (Milena Smit). It emerges that their babies were switched. Ana is devastated when her baby dies in the crib. But Janis stays silent getting attached to her baby. 

While the pacing is somewhat slow, Cruz and Smit are terrific in their portrayal of the two mothers, one nervous and the other full of free expression. The suspense comes in the discord and harmony between the two of them. At times the motivations are ambiguous and opaque and it takes some patience to divine what has occurred but gradually Janis is the most unhinged. Cruz gives a full and free range to her character once again turning in a fine performance.

A score by Alberto Iglesias with its haunting chords at the end of each dramatic segment recalls the apprehension of Alfred Hitchcock and the composer Bernard Herrmann.

Almodóvar might employ familiar trappings here, but each film this auteur produces is a thoughtful yet enigmatic realm. One is never quite sure when the dénouement will occur or what it will reveal. The anguished ghosts of Franco’s abhorrent civil war, perhaps hovering around the baby and looking for entry becomes a springboard for anxiety.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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