Almodovar's gift is to take a soap-opera storyline - two mothers and their babies - and give it a glossy sheen that makes it seem almost fresh. All the cast take their roles seriously. Penelope Cruz is the best of them; on screen she has an incandescence that reminds me of Sophia Loren's early films.

There's a background story in which Cruz's lover is trying to get permission to excavate the grave of some villagers savagely killed in the early years of the Civil War. I rather wish that this had been given more screen time. The final scene of this movie is nothing less than magnificent.

I can't say this is a bad film, but I can say people let Almodovar go away with a lot of things others wouldn't get a chance.

First, the guy knows how to direct. Knows how to use the camera, how to use the colours, interior spaces and how to take the best of the cast. Penelope does an impressive job here, much more if you think about the range of emotions and how much effortless it looks like. I think the main story is quite interesting even if slightly predictable from the first scene. I also like that Almodovar is still very ambitious, even if he doesn't need to be it anymore, but...narratively, this is a mess.

I don't know how to mix these two stories - the present with the mothers and the past related with Franco's crimes in Spain - but maybe there is a reason for that: because they don't make a lot of sense together. It always feels like two separate films and even if I liked the final scene, I think Pedro tries to lecture us too much (and I agree with his message about those past crimes and how Spain is dealing with that).

It's watchable, maybe it deserved a 6, but I definitely didn't feel as invested as I should have been considering the two main themes.

Parallel Mothers

This was not one of Almodovar's finest movies, the characters were superficial and lacked any sort of emotional intelligence, in fact they were verging on caricatures of human beings.

The plot was quite bizarre lacking any heft, something about a genetic legacy and not being able to deny history. The plot took a wrong turn when it fixated about the paternity for one baby but the other baby "oh it looks like my grandmother", was sufficient.

The dialogue skated on the surface and we had some strange scenes to titillate the viewer, I wasn't convinced. Had it not been for the fabulous Penelope Cruz who threw her all into the project this would've been a Spanish turkey.

I'm giving this a weak 6 outta 10, meaning if you are an Almodovar fan you have to see it.