Madres paralelas

Photographer Janis, a woman somewhere in her fourties, is searching for the grave of her great-grandfather, who was executed during the Spanish Civil War. She is assisted by forensic anthropologist Arturo. The bond between the two becomes closer and closer and eventually Janis becomes pregnant. Arturo is already married and so she decides to have the child on her own, just as her mother and grandmother once did. Janis goes into hospital to give birth and there she shares a room with young Ana, who is also pregnant unintentionally and is about to give birth. This shared fate creates a bond between the two that will have a great impact on their lives.

As in Todo sobre mi madre (1999) and Dolor y gloria (2019), family ties, and especially the role of the mother, play a major role in Pedro Almodóvar's new film Madres paralelas (Parallel Mothers). And just like in those aforementioned films, Almodóvar's muse Penelope Cruz also plays a leading role in this one.