Parallel Mothers

 A Pedro Almodòvar film is a wonderful panacea against a drab and miserable Sunday morning for it is crammed to the gunnels with the vibrancy and colour of Spain at its best and Parallel Mothers ( Madres Paralelas) is such a film, which is not only beautiful to look at , but is full of warmth and love and hope and beautiful people being very adult and grown up. 

The film centres about two single mothers who give birth on the same day. Penélope Cruz is Janis, a successful photographer who is looking forward to motherhood and Melina Smit is Ana an isolated teenager who is not. 

A friendship ensues and their lives become linked through fate, a tragedy, complicated relationships and an old war crime with both women exploring the blurring of boundaries of mothers and motherhood. 

It’s a wonderfully old fashioned pot boiler with lots of satisfying plot twists and Almodòvar has crafted a complicated but intensely warm homage to families of blood and the families we blend out of people we love. 

Cruz is luminous in the main role and is ably supported by a cast made mostly ,( with one exception) from women. Smit is impressive as the strong teenage Ana who has to grow up very quickly and Almodòvar stalwart Rossy de Palmer makes a welcome return in the small role of Janis’ best friend.

De Palmer

The denouement is incredibly moving with the female cast revisiting the site of a civil War crime , a background story which underlines the message that babies carry the genes and ghosts of the past.

He leaves the audience with a quote from journalist Eduardo Galeano

“ No matter how hard you try to silence it, human history refuses to shut up” 

I adored this film 

I had something to eat in Chester afterwards, then came home walked the dogs and pottered….a bit later  Gorgeous Dave will pick me up. We are going  to Comedy Night at Theatre Clwyd ( an odd night for a comedy show I always think) 

It’s bloody non stop lol