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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Julieta (2016) in Movies
Aug 16, 2017
Fabulous acting (2 more)
Wonderful cinematography
Complexity of human relations
Another beautiful film from the master Almodovar
Pedro Almodovar has such a wonderful eye for understanding the human condition. Unlike his more outlandish colourful films, this is about the tragic relationships of estranged families and the breakdown in communications. Written in the perspective of a mother whose daughter left or went missing 12 years previously, the film shows her writing a letter to her daughter about all the mistakes she made in that relationship including erasing her from her life. Really very moving and poignant.
Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) (1999)
8.0
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Award-winning Spanish melodrama by Pedro Almodovar. A nurse moves from Madrid to Barcelona,...
Steve McQueen recommended Pain and Glory (2019) in Movies (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Átame!) (1989) in Movies
Jun 3, 2020
Black romantic-comedy, a rare misfire from Pedro Almodovar. A mentally-unstable young man kidnaps a troubled actress and junkie and keeps her prisoner until she falls in love with him. Yes, I know: I would say it was a Spanish thing but it's fundamentally the same plot as Passengers and a few other movies.
I suppose it's conceivable that you could make quite an interesting and provocative film based on such a premise, provided you approached it the right way (perhaps in this case doing it ironically might be justified). However, Almodovar plays it unexpectedly straight, and quite apart from how dodgy the basis of the plot is, not even actors like Banderas and Abril (who do the best they can with the material) can make the story work. Lots of interesting characters and story material gets crowded out to the edges of the film, and it's oddly graphic for what's supposed to be a romance. Watchable but not satisfying.
I suppose it's conceivable that you could make quite an interesting and provocative film based on such a premise, provided you approached it the right way (perhaps in this case doing it ironically might be justified). However, Almodovar plays it unexpectedly straight, and quite apart from how dodgy the basis of the plot is, not even actors like Banderas and Abril (who do the best they can with the material) can make the story work. Lots of interesting characters and story material gets crowded out to the edges of the film, and it's oddly graphic for what's supposed to be a romance. Watchable but not satisfying.
SL
Spanish Lessons: Cinema and Television in Contemporary Spain
Book
Though unjustly neglected by English-language audiences, Spanish film and television not only...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Parallel Mothers (2021) in Movies
Mar 21, 2022
Cruz is terrific, the "B" plot is better
I have stated before that I find that Penelope Cruz is a very good (not great) actress when working in English. But…she has been a revelation to me as a GREAT Actress when I catch her work in her native language, Spanish, and she is especially good when she is working in a piece by the man that calls her his “muse”, Writer/Director Pedro Almodovar.
Such is the case with their latest collaboration - PARALLEL MOTHERS - an interesting and engaging film with a quality performance at the center of it by Cruz, a performance that has her, rightfully, nominated for the 4th time for an Oscar (she won in 2008 for her Supporting Role in VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA).
In this film, Cruz stars as one of 2 “parallel mothers”, who’s character, Janis, goes into labor at the same time as Milena Smit’s character, Ana. What happens to these two is that their lives will be intertwined in such a way that these “parallel mothers” will have a connection for the rest of their lives.
But, this is just the “A” story of this film and (as has been his custom), Almodovar gives us a “B” story that focuses on Spain’s attempt to continue to heal from the Spanish Civil War - and it is this part of the film that is the part that has lingered with me.
Cruz, of course, is a beautiful, wonderful choice as Janis. She holds the screen in every scene she is in (and that is almost every one) and her and Almodovar know what kind of movie they are making and head strongly in that direction. The surprise for me was Milena Smit’s performance as Ana as she holds her own in her scenes with Cruz.
The “A” story of this film is good (but not great) and it does fall, a bit, into “Soap Opera” territory, but Almodovar, Cruz et al know how to elevate it above that with realistic dialogue and emotions that grounds this portion of the film. It is the “B” plot that Almodovar seems to be more interested in and this, in turn, makes that part of the story the more interesting one. To be fair to Cruz, it does involve her character as well, but her relationship with Ana is put in the background, thus negating that relationship to the importance of the story.
The “B” plot was better and I almost wish that this was the main part of the story, it might have made it an overall better - maybe even excellent - film, but, instead, PARALLEL MOTHERS falls to “just” VERY GOOD.
Letter Grade: A- (for Cruz’ and Smit’s performances and the “B” plot)
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Such is the case with their latest collaboration - PARALLEL MOTHERS - an interesting and engaging film with a quality performance at the center of it by Cruz, a performance that has her, rightfully, nominated for the 4th time for an Oscar (she won in 2008 for her Supporting Role in VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA).
In this film, Cruz stars as one of 2 “parallel mothers”, who’s character, Janis, goes into labor at the same time as Milena Smit’s character, Ana. What happens to these two is that their lives will be intertwined in such a way that these “parallel mothers” will have a connection for the rest of their lives.
But, this is just the “A” story of this film and (as has been his custom), Almodovar gives us a “B” story that focuses on Spain’s attempt to continue to heal from the Spanish Civil War - and it is this part of the film that is the part that has lingered with me.
Cruz, of course, is a beautiful, wonderful choice as Janis. She holds the screen in every scene she is in (and that is almost every one) and her and Almodovar know what kind of movie they are making and head strongly in that direction. The surprise for me was Milena Smit’s performance as Ana as she holds her own in her scenes with Cruz.
The “A” story of this film is good (but not great) and it does fall, a bit, into “Soap Opera” territory, but Almodovar, Cruz et al know how to elevate it above that with realistic dialogue and emotions that grounds this portion of the film. It is the “B” plot that Almodovar seems to be more interested in and this, in turn, makes that part of the story the more interesting one. To be fair to Cruz, it does involve her character as well, but her relationship with Ana is put in the background, thus negating that relationship to the importance of the story.
The “B” plot was better and I almost wish that this was the main part of the story, it might have made it an overall better - maybe even excellent - film, but, instead, PARALLEL MOTHERS falls to “just” VERY GOOD.
Letter Grade: A- (for Cruz’ and Smit’s performances and the “B” plot)
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
TP
The Politics and Poetics of Cinematic Realism
Hermann Kappelhoff and Daniel Hendrickson
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Hermann Kappelhoff casts the evolution of cinema as an ongoing struggle to relate audiences to their...
Religion and Spanish Film: Luis Bunuel, the Franco Era, and Contemporary Directors
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Treatments of religion found in Spanish cinema range from the pious to the anticlerical and...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dark Habits (Entre tinieblas) (1983) in Movies
May 4, 2020
Rather uneven comedy melodrama from very early in Pedro Almodovar's career. A cabaret singer hides out in a convent; the Mother Superior has a heroin habit, the nuns have names like Sister Manure and Sister Sewer Rat, one of them writes schlocky bestsellers on the quiet and another keeps a pet tiger in the convent gardens.
Apparently intended as a critique of the anachronism of organised religion in modern Spain, and to begin with the film's various provocations are diverting and amusing, but the jokes dry up after a while and any serious points the film is making get lost in all the silliness. The fact the main character is played by a non-actress does not help. The plot is the kind of mixture of deep emotion and absurd contrivance that Almodovar has built a career on, but at this point he was yet to master making you invest in it and care about the characters. Kind of diverting and interestingly weird in places, but clearly the work of a director still paying his dues.
Apparently intended as a critique of the anachronism of organised religion in modern Spain, and to begin with the film's various provocations are diverting and amusing, but the jokes dry up after a while and any serious points the film is making get lost in all the silliness. The fact the main character is played by a non-actress does not help. The plot is the kind of mixture of deep emotion and absurd contrivance that Almodovar has built a career on, but at this point he was yet to master making you invest in it and care about the characters. Kind of diverting and interestingly weird in places, but clearly the work of a director still paying his dues.
The Psychology of Screenwriting: Theory and Practice
Book
The Psychology of Screenwriting is more than an interesting book on the theory and practice of...