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PARALLEL MOTHERS

SURPRISE/¡VIVA EL CINE!

Spain 2021, 120 min Director Pedro Almodóvar

Spain’s most prolific and influential filmmaker, Pedro Almodóvar, surprises us once again with this contemporary melodrama about two women, Janis (Penélope Cruz) and Ana (Milena Smit), whose lives intersect profoundly thanks to a casual encounter in a hospital where they’re both going into labor. Janis, the older of the two, has no regrets and is delighted with the idea of motherhood. But young Ana is regretful and scared. As they walk through the hospital corridor, waiting for their respective new arrivals, just a few words exchanged between them will complicate the women’s lives forever. Almodóvar expands on earlier representations of femininity, turning the film’s focus to the many complicated facets of motherhood. A unique offering, Parallel Mothers sits well within the director’s gallery of great films with a bold color palette and dramatic performances that border on comic, yet stands memorably on its own. –João Federici

In Spanish with English subtitles


El cineasta más prolífico e influyente de España, Pedro Almodóvar, vuelve a sorprendernos con este melodrama contemporáneo sobre dos mujeres, Janis (Penélope Cruz) y Ana (Milena Smit), cuyas vidas se entrecruzan gracias a un casual encuentro en el hospital donde ambas están en trabajo de parto. Janis, la mayor de las dos, no se arrepiente y está encantada con la idea de la maternidad. Pero la joven Ana está arrepentida y asustada. Mientras caminan por el pasillo del hospital, esperando a sus respectivos recién nacidos, unas pocas palabras intercambiadas entre ellas complican la vida de las mujeres para siempre. Almodóvar amplía sus anteriores representaciones cinematográficas de la feminidad, dirigiendo el enfoque de la película hacia las muchas y complicadas facetas de la maternidad. Madres Paralelas, una proposición única, encaja bien en la galería de grandes películas del director con una paleta de colores atrevidos e interpretaciones dramáticas que rozan el cómic, pero que se destaca por sí misma de manera memorable. –João Federici (traducido por Isabel Fondevila)

En español con subtítulos en inglés

GET TICKETS

IN-THEATER

Thursday, Oct 14, 2:00pm, Smith Rafael Film Center

Saturday, Oct 16, 7:00 pm, CinéArts Sequoia

$14 Member | $16.50 General | $15 Senior | $8 Students & Youth (12 & Under)

DIRECTOR

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Spanish writer-director Pedro Almodóvar has established himself as one of the most vital auteurs working in contemporary cinema. Among his many honors are Cannes Film Festival prizes for All About My Mother (1999), Volver (2006), and The Skin I Live In (2011); a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Talk to Her (2002); and two MVFF Audience Awards for Julieta (2016) and Pain and Glory (2019).

FILM INFO

COUNTRY:Spain
YEAR:2021
RUNNING TIME:108 min
LANGUAGE: Spanish
DIRECTOR:Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCERS:Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
CINEMATOGRAPHER:José Luis Alcaine

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