Madres Paralelas is Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film which brings together Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit in the cast. French critics are unanimous on this drama around motherhood.
[Mis à jour le 1er décembre 2021 à 11h32] Pedro Almodóvar once again offered Penélope Cruz a golden role in Madres Paralelas. The last film of the Spanish director was released in theaters on December 1, 2021. In this drama around motherhood (a theme dear to the Madrid filmmaker), Penelope cruz plays Janis, who meets Ana in a hospital room. Both are about to give birth and become single mothers. A close bond will be created between the two women who will follow each other for several years.
French criticism is globally conquered by the surprising Madres Paralelas. The press praised the performances of the actresses, and in particular of Penélope Cruz, who obtained for this role the prize for the best actress at the Venice Film Festival 2021: “Madres paralelas is a film embodied by its characters and, above all, by its actresses. Penélope Cruz, in particular, has never been so luminous and tormented at the same time “, underlines Les Inrockuptibles, when Le Figaro considers that” Penélope Cruz carries from beginning to end this melodrama treated a little over the leg ” . The staging and the aesthetics are also hailed by the critics: “The director’s camera, both uncompromising and modest, always knows how to magnify” the actresses, notes La Voix du Nord, when Les Echos is seduced by this “portrait passionate about women of the 2020s “.
In this melodrama, Pedro Almodóvar allows himself a political reflection much more present than in his previous works, underline the critics: “This is his first political film on the ghosts of Francoism” describes Télé Loisirs. If many critics find the film imperfect (“a melodrama treated a little over the leg, with a good dose of starched dialogue, Franco kind for dummies, and a feeling of déjà vu” for Le Figaro), admirers of Almodóvar’s work can be tempted by this new cinema proposition from the Iberian director without hesitation.
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Synopsis – Over two years, the film will follow two women who have given birth the same day and which have parallel trajectories.
See the trailer for Madres Paralelas
Which actors in the cast of Madres Paralelas?
- Penélope Cruz: Janis
- Milena Smit: Ana
- Israel Elejalde: Arturo
- Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
- Rossy de Palma: Elena
- Daniela Santiago
- Julieta Serrano: Brigida
- Adelfa calvo
- José Javier Dominguez: Camarero
- Julio Manrique: Jesus
What is the translation of Madres Paralelas?
Literally, Madres Paralelas, title of the last film of Pedro Almodóvar, translates to “Parallel mothers”. This directly refers to the story of her feature film, which follows the journey of two single mothers who meet during their childbirth and follow each other over several years.