Popular reviews

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★★½

  deeply obsessed with Penelope Cruz's cathode ray TV baby monitor.

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  Review by KYK ★★★ 2

  in spain but the s is silent

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  Review by Abbie ★★★★ 1

  They did NOT have to give my girl Ana an Ellen the Generous hair cut to drive home that she’s a lesbian!!!

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  Review by Siegel™ ★★★★ 4

  Not many directors have the privilege of being their own genre, but with his instantly recognizable style and enviable ability to construct complicated narratives presented in a way that is entertaining and easy to consume—although not always digestible—Almodovar is certainly one such filmmaker. He loves to lay it on thick; in an Almodovar film, drama becomes melodrama, romantic attraction becomes softcore porn, interpersonal tension becomes all-out Hitchcockian suspense, controversy becomes full-blown scandal. Parallel Mothers is a noir-ish melodrama, and the twisty plot is only the surface of how the film challenges the viewer. It disarms with jaw-dropping formal elegance and narrative daring on a canvas of such eye-popping richness, and then crafts a visceral tale of symbolism, secrets and sexuality, a political allegory that reminds us that politics is little more than an obfuscation of basic human decency.

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  Review by Sam Meltzer🏳️‍🌈 ★★★★

  Almodóvar doesn’t entirely bring back his signature style but instead creates a modern, twisted look on relationships and family while hinting at what he understands best: creativity. He digs at political views in Spain while instantly bringing the audience into these characters' lives and states of mind in order to brighten up certain explorations of adulthood.

  Penélope Cruz is an absolute treasure and deserves to continue on with more films like this. Her combination of vehemence and amiability brings an unaltered and unique charisma to the screen that is both distinct and familiar. While her beauty graces the screen, it’s her depth that transcends it.

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  Review by Lexi ★★★½ 4

  This film managed to tackle personal and historical things at the same time and make you have feelings for the characters. I fell in love with Penélope Cruz in All About My Mother (1999), and Parallel Mothers (2021) just made me fall in love with her for the second time.

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  Review by Nick ★★★★ 3

  Parallel Mothers is Almodovar's most emotionally potent work since Volver, and one of his most politically conscious works to date. It takes a veteran master like Almodovar to combine personal and national turmoils and hardship in such a shattering manner, and as an audience what else can you do but cry and applaud for its brilliance.

  Chronicling two pregnant women's encounters and ensuing melodramas, Parallel Mothers continues Almodovar's trademark of messy feminist stories and strong, likable female characters. His frequent collaborator Penélope Cruz was the soul of the story, giving such a layered, emotionally shattering performance that's Oscar-worthy, to say the least. The relatively unknown Milena Smit was the ultimate surprise of the ensemble, providing an equally impressive, painfully edgy…

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  Review by praisey 5

  we want the tiddy poster!

  edit: naur...this is my 4th edit now letterboxd hates me ig 😔 tiddy hater! 😠

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  Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★★

  Genealogy of blood, family, drama, past histories and current actions. Almodovar goes back to his personal rereadings of melodrama, but for different unusually direct political uses. I notice people seems to react strongly to the motherhood drama than the historical one, but they seem to me very hard to separate. They'd be both remain dry exercises without collapsing into each other. Great Cruz performance. Almodovar usual facility for creating large waves of emotion and balancing the most selfish and kind gestures put to great use. Kleber Mendonça Filho compared it to Sayles' Lone Star and that seems apt if certainly unexpected, both radical reimagining of local narrative traditions to better access its histories of violence.

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  Review by Robert Daniels ★★★★★ 5

  He’s done it again, boys.

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  Review by muriel

  if there’s one thing almodóvar is gonna do (besides having a very red production design) is make me rethink my whole relationship with my mother for god knows how long.

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  Review by Austin Burke ★★★½ 2

  👍🏻70%
  2021 list - Click HERE

  Two women, Janis and Ana, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn't regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way.

  Pedro Almodóvar is doing something fascinating here, as he brings us a film that features an unorthodox story and complex characters. The idea of these two…