«I was born as a director in Venice in 1983, I was selected for the Mezzogiorno / Mezzanotte section. Thirty-eight years later I am called to open the festival. I cannot express the joy, the honor and how much this represents for me without falling into self-satisfaction. I am very grateful to the festival for this recognition and I hope to live up to it».
Pedro Almodóvar, Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2019, commented this way on the announcement that Madres Paralelas, in competition at the 78th Venice Film Festival, would have also been the opening film.
Almodóvar explains that «with Madres paralelas I return to the feminine universe, motherhood, family. I speak of the importance of ancestors and descendants. The inevitable presence of memory. There are many mothers in my filmography, the ones who are part of this story are very different. As a storyteller, imperfect mothers inspire me the most right now. It will be an intense drama. I hope at least».
The story, written by Almodóvar himself, perfectly fits the author’s poetry: Janis (Penélope Cruz) and Ana (Milena Smit) share the room in the hospital where they are about to give birth. They are two single women struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. Janis is over forty, she has no regrets and in the hours preceding the birth she rejoices with joy. On the other hand Ana is a frightened and traumatized teenager for what happened to her. Janis tries to cheer her up during their walks in the hospital wards.
The few words exchanged in those hours create a very strong bond between the two and fate will complicate their lives in a sensational and unexpected way. The film alternates joy and pain, anxiety and worry, in an emotional swing reflected by the aseptic locations of the hospital alternate with the multi-ethnic Madrid district of Lavapies that is the main setting of Almodóvar’s 23rd feature film, that was written during the months of the first lockdown and shot in the early 2021.
Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera defined Madres Paralelas «an intense and sensitive portrait of two women who measure themselves with the unpredictable implications of motherhood, female solidarity and sexuality lived in full freedom and without hypocrisy, against the background of a reflection on the unavoidable necessity of truth, to be pursued without hesitation».
Spain 2021,
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
With Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Julieta Serrano, Rossy De Palma,
Lenght 120 ‘
Distribution, Warner Bros. Italy
