THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are moments in life where you would never think could happen to you until it does.
PLOT
Parallel Mothers or Madres parallelas follows two women whose lives drastically change more than they anticipated. Photographer Janis Martinez is pregnant with her first born Cecilia. The baby's father is forensic archaeologist Arturo, who wants to be with them both, but is unable to abandon his wife undergoing chemotherapy. Teenager Ana is also pregnant with her first born Anita, which was a result of being gang raped. Ana and Janis shared a hospital room together and gave birth to their babies on the same day. Both women go their separate ways, but keep in touch after their babies were evaluated. As months went by, Janis raised Cecilia on her own, as does Ana with Anita. One night, Arturo visits and hopes to see his illegitimate child. While wanting to be happy, he worries that it might not be his. Janis does later on take a maternity test, which shockingly reveals that she is not Cecilia's mother. As months go by, she chooses not to tell anyone. She does encounter Ana at a cafe, who has been fending for herself when her mother left to pursue acting on the road. She invites her to her apartment to continue catching up. She does so after wrapping up her shift at the cafe, only to share tragic news that Anita suffered a crib death. When she shows a photo of her baby, Janis grows suspicious that their babies were swapped. While this gets confirmed after secretly taking saliva samples for another maternity test, Janis offers Ana a job as a live in maid to watch over the house and Cecilia. The two grow closer than ever when the latter shares how her father pressured her to stay silent of how she got pregnant. Eventually, the relationship between the two becomes physically intimate. Arturo does visit Janis again to share recent events: While he separated with his now recovered wife, his mass grave excavation for her home village has been approved by his foundation. Once she returns home celebrating the latter of good news, Ana feels jealous of their relationship. Her mother Teresa even visits her as well, confessing to being a bad mother for wanting to pursue her dream. Once she leaves, Janis finally admits to Ana that their babies were swapped. Out of anger, Ana leaves the night with Cecilia, which breaks Janis' heart. She confesses the truth to Arturo as well, who chooses to spend the night and console with her after the recent turn of events. The next morning, A now calm Ana calls Janis, apologizes for leaving abruptly and agrees to welcome her to be a part of Cecilia's life. Months later, she and Arturo are again, expecting a second child and are gathering information to prepare for the excavation. The film ends with Ana (and Cecilia) visiting Janis' home village to pay respects to her ancestors after the excavation is deemed a success.
THOUGHTS
I knew I was behind on 2021's movie catalog when noticing that I hardly saw any of the Oscar nominees of 94th ceremony, before they were ever announced. So as I crossed this off from my watchlist, I was straight up blown away with what I got. The iconic Writer/Director Pedro Almodóvar gives a captivating story on how we can heal from every traumatic aspect our lives go through, which tests our will. It also addresses how building a family and friendship can come in all shapes and sizes, but in the long run, our honesty is what will forever maintain it, no matter how painful it'll come out. When you feel this layer of reality, it makes you appreciate life more than before. With a beautiful cast, we are able to feel every lesson we're supposed to learn. In her fourth Oscar nominated performance, and eight collaboration with Almodóvar, Penélope Cruz gives her best performance with ease. Janis is a likable character because she is a humble person who doesn't hold herself back from the decisions she has to make. She does wait it out on sharing her discovery, but seeing her come around proves how strong of a will she has. She goes through a tremendous loss and still manages to keep her head up after all of it, which makes her inspirational how she doesn't let loss consume her. On the other hand, Milena Smit is great as well in the role of Ana. She is someone who is crippled and is building her independence. She and Janis connect so well because they relate to personal loss and the feeling of isolation. Off of that, it surprises me how they never face timed each other between their audio calls. Nevertheless, she did the right thing allowing to keep her involved in Cecilia's life because she did a great job raising her and doesn't deserve to lose another child like she did. I admire that Janis wants to name her second baby after her if it's a girl because it represents how she changed her life in a good way. Because of that, I hope it is a girl. And seeing Ana visit the excavation because she grew to understand Janis' perspective of respecting a family's legacy. As a mother now, she'll do everything she can to pave a great future for her daughter like Janis would. I also liked Arturo because Israel Elejalde presented him as someone who has a big heart, but refuses to share it with two other people. He did love Janis ever since they first met, but he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he left his wife behind. He is aware of being selfish, but he is trying to be less selfish. So seeing him lessen the damage he is responsible makes you respect him. It doesn't matter if he deserves Janis because what matters now is that he has a second chance to make her happy like she wants and with their second child, there is no doubt that they'll both be. And lastly, I end up respecting Teresa more than I expected because Aitana Sánchez-Gijón portrays her as someone who has regret with her past decisions, but can't help herself wanting to chase her dream, refusing to give up. It's the situation where you realize that the sacrifices were sadly not really worth it as hoped. The fact that she admits she's not a good mom is what makes you respect her by the end. To wrap up, Parallel Mothers is a beautiful movie that reminds people how motherhood is a journey of its own, which I recommend to those who need to be motivated to do right.
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