As said in other reviews, there are two plots. The minor one is not developed enough unfortunately. The other employs plot devices which are either abused, or forced and irrelevant. Not really convinced.
Almodóvar builds a political melodrama in which the past is represented in those who have died, but also in those who are born. It's the Spain in conflict, the one that opts for oblivion and the one that wants to recover memory. The apolitical actress in the face of the idea that all actors "are left-wing." More than about parallel mothers, the film is about orphaned, abandoned daughters adopted by fake mothers.
This is a very interesting movie. It follows along two tracks: the first (and final) track is about unearthing a historical mystery, the other is about rectifying a devastating mistake. The acting is excellent (Penelope Cruz was nominated for an Oscar for this). The ending is very European, by which I mean, the resolution is not on the personal level but on a global note. I am not European so I find the unfinished elements, of the relationship that they spent so much time articulating, a little unrewarding. However, I give the film an 8 (moving) out of 10. [Drama]
I am slowly getting into Almodovar’s works. This one might be my favorite https://boxd.it/2GNw9h
While I gave this film a decent rating I was also somewhat disappointed by it. As the great comedian Patrice O'Neal once said, sometimes the hardest part about watching a movie is trying to figure out how to watch it. For example, in the beginning of the film I had a hard time trying to figure out if this film was a character study or possibly a crime drama. It felt like the director was kind of hedging our collective bets by at times using a music bed that indicated that something... criminal?... was afoot. Without giving away anything, I felt like at different points in the film there were suggestions made to the viewer that ultimately turned out to be nothing. As the story unfolded (and the various suggestions dissipated) I became increasingly dissatisfied with the movie.
And that leaves us with the final scene. I get what the director was going for and it might have resonated more with the people of that region. It just didn't feel like that theme was a major part of the storyline. Couple that with what we were to infer about the resolutions between the three leads - the result was a dissatisfying ending.
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The film brings, in a parallel way, stories of life and death that meet at the end. In one of them, two mothers whose stories are intertwined. On the other hand, the desire to recover the memory and not forget the atrocities of the past. "Madres Paralelas" is a political melodrama with all the aspects of an Almodóvar film.
These people complaining about two different plots missed the point and what they have in common: death and identity.
Also, is this the first film they've seen where a movie doesn't move in a straight line?
So much in this movie seemed to be incomplete.
How did the women go from being separated because of the revelation of the babies’ real parentage, to suddenly back together, especially after we see Penelope Cruz’s character sleeping with her ex??
Also, was sleeping with her ex planned in order to get pregnant again? Was he sleeping with her only in order to give her another baby or was this an attempt for them to get back together as a couple?
Are the three of them now in a relationship together? Are the two women together romantically at all? Are they just all friends now?
I felt like there was a lot of questions about the romantic relationships and the future parenting roles that were left unanswered.
Sometimes I complain that movies are slow and drag on too long but this one maybe should have been a bit longer in order to more smoothly tell the story and explain how the characters got to the conclusion. In this case I’m still confused as to where the characters ended up at the end.
I will say though that concerns about the story telling and lack details at the end not withstanding, Penelope Cruz knocked this out of the park! Wow! She really had me with her on this emotional ride.
One word and one word only : disappointing
5/10 -
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.
Terrifying. And it's not a scary movie.
It seems that the only reason for making the film was to get money from the Spanish government subsidy for it, and the gratitude is shown with the unnecessary political criticisms that do not contribute to the plot.
As for the interpretations, totally empty with a Penélope Cruz who seems to be a beginner.
A waste of time.
This is a shirt that's been professionally pressed and expertly arranged on a hanger, but there's no story to hang it on.
This tale of two mothers who give birth to clichés at the same time at the same hospital includes passing references to gang rape and made-for-tv melodrama about the horrors of fascism under Franco.
The plot, however, is basically a widget, a hypothetical and unimportant subject Almodóvar uses as a placeholder to illustrate how he'd direct a good movie with an interesting story.
Shout by alexnaderBlockedParent2021-11-11T02:23:12Z
Very disjointed story. It's two films in one, with seemingly no reason why they are mashed together: the dead ancestors side plot, and the "hospital oopsy" rammed in the middle.
A very unnecessary hookup that ads nothing to the story, and almost no resolution to the whole swapped baby deal other than guess they got over it and lived happily ever after.
Also the constant "fade to black" jumps between time periods just felt super cheap and almost like a commercial break was coming.
All in all, watchable but would not recommend (Despite it being a free outing that INCLUDED a large soda and popcorn).