Madres paralelas / Matki równoległe
2021, 123 min.

Awards and selections: 2022 Academy Awards – nominations for Best Actress (Penélope Cruz) and Best Original Score (Alberto Iglesias); 2021 Venice International Film Festival – Volpi Cup for Best Actress (Penélope Cruz)
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Rossy de Palma, Julieta Serrano
Country: France, Spain

[IN-PERSON SCREENING]

 

— pre-screening introduction: Jakub Popielecki (Filmweb)

— the screening is accompanied by a visit from Laia Casanovas and a masterclass: Sound Design for the film “Sirât”.

 

An acclaimed two-time Oscar-nominated drama about the power of motherhood

Pedro Almodóvar’s moving melodrama about motherhood, secrets and inherited trauma. Janis and Ana meet in a maternity ward, although almost everything separates them – their experiences, ages and attitudes towards impending motherhood. Yet their lives become intertwined in ways neither could have imagined. Beneath the surface of the emotional drama, thriller-like tension gradually builds, intensified by the suggestive sound design and Alberto Iglesias’s Oscar-nominated score. Sound, silence and music become vehicles for emotion and memory.

In the media

«Prepare for a melodrama that plays like the best thriller, as well as a heartbreaking story about maternal love, inherited trauma and art as a vehicle for memory. In short, a good Almodóvar.»
— Jakub Popielecki, Filmweb, read the full review here

«The director once again focuses on women facing the challenges of raising a child alone. The lives of the two women intersect more often than they could possibly imagine. And somewhere above them hangs a secret, gradually building tension beneath the surface, much like a classic thriller.»
— Radosław Ostrowski, Kinoblog, read the full review here

«[Penélope Cruz] reaches an extraordinary level, creating her best performance since Volver, perhaps even of her entire career. There isn’t a single false note here. She moves effortlessly from the simple act of chopping potatoes to an emotional rollercoaster of breath-taking experiences. Cruz is this film; she is responsible for its spirit. She inspires admiration, moves, shocks and frustrates… There is an extraordinary honesty to it.»
— Karol Barzowski, Onet, read the full review here

Pedro Almodóvar

Spanish director, screenwriter and producer, born in 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava. Since the 1970s, he has created films combining melodrama, dark humour and camp aesthetics, often focusing on women’s experiences. He achieved international recognition with “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988) and the Oscar-winning “All About My Mother” (1999). He won another Academy Award for the screenplay of “Talk to Her” (2002).

Tags: Spanish cinema, motherhood, mystery

The “Sound Design” section is organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Spain in Poland. Section partners: the Polish National Film School in Łódź and Filmweb.