Parallel Mothers
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on April 27th, 2022
Fair warning to anyone who isn’t fluent in Spanish; you’re going to need to make sure the subtitles are on. There is an English dub, but I wouldn’t recommend it in my humble opinion, as it sounds very automated. That aside, this was a very interesting film that deals with a very emotionally complex issue. Two women, both expectant mothers, share a room at the hospital and form a deep connection with one another. Their backgrounds are very different, including the conception of their children. Both were not planned, but one has a more traumatic experience. Penelope Cruz serves as the prominent focal point of the film as well as the film’s heart, as much the emotional context of the film is seen through her perspective. Despite that momentous responsibility, she delivers an award-worthy performance as Janis, a photographer who finds herself pregnant following an affair with a married man. On the other side is Milena Smit as Ana, a young minor struggling to take care of her child. The two women’s connection is clear early on, and while their relationship takes a turn that I was not initially expecting, it is their connection that fuels the overall plot.
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