Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 743
RT slug: parallel_mothers
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/parallel_mothers
Release year: 2021
Runtime: 123 mins
Wide release date: —
Limited release date: 2021-12-24
Festival premiere date: 2021-09-01
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: 96%
Audience score final: —
Genres: Drama
Directors: Pedro Almodóvar
Writers: Pedro Almodóvar
Producers: Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
MPAA rating: R
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-06-14 17:45:54
Updated: 2026-06-14 17:45:54
Two women meet in a hospital room where they are both about to give birth, forming a complicated bond that changes the course of their lives.
—
Canonical reviews: 230
Canonical fresh: 221
Canonical rotten: 9
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 96%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-14 17:16:57
Snapshot Tomatometer: 96%
Snapshot review count: 230
Snapshot fresh count: 221
Snapshot rotten count: 9
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1288 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Sony Pictures Classics | distributor |
| El Deseo | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penelope Cruz | Janis |
| 2 | Milena Smit | Ana |
| 3 | Israel Elejalde | Arturo |
| 4 | Aitana Sanchez-Gijon | Teresa |
| 5 | Rossy de Palma | Elena |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 759 | processed | — | 2026-06-14 17:45:54 | Processed successfully into movie_id=743 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1288 | 2026-06-14 12:16:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-14 17:16:57 | 96% | 230 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 230 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=230, fresh=221, rotten=9, tomatometer=96%. Net new reviews added=230, fresh=221, rotten=9. Current canonical totals=230 reviews, 221 fresh, 9 rotten, tomatometer=96% (96.087%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (230). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (96%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 169052 | Geoffrey Macnab | iNews.co.uk | Fresh | 4/5 | 2025-01-17T00:54:29Z | 2025-01-17 00:54:29 | Whatever the case, this is bravura film-making, as Almodóvar brings humour and humanity to a story which in less assured hands, could easily have played like a corny soap opera. |
| 169053 | Christina Newland | iNews.co.uk | Fresh | 4/5 | 2024-09-23T20:45:22Z | 2024-09-23 20:45:22 | A deeply nuanced portrayal of female bonds. |
| 169054 | Denise Pieniazek | Puesta en Escena (AR) | Fresh | 8.5/10 | 2024-08-18T23:10:04Z | 2024-08-18 23:10:04 | Like several of Almodóvar's mother melodramas, Parallel Mothers oscillates between the “bad mother” and the “good mother.” The symbolic parallels constantly, redefine the narrative, linking the themes of the violation of human rights and identity. |
| 169055 | Amy Smith | InSession Film | Fresh | — | 2024-03-01T20:38:13Z | 2024-03-01 20:38:13 | Take a seat and let the story captivate you from the first words to the very last frame. |
| 169056 | Dave Giannini | InSession Film | Fresh | — | 2024-02-24T00:39:35Z | 2024-02-24 00:39:35 | This is Almodóvar at his most political and romantic, an absolute treat for all of the senses. |
| 169057 | Marya E. Gates | Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) | Fresh | — | 2024-02-13T00:04:11Z | 2024-02-13 00:04:11 | This marks the 7th film Cruz and Almodóvar have made together, and you can see how well they understand each other as artists. |
| 169058 | Stephanie Bunbury | Deadline Hollywood Daily | Fresh | — | 2023-09-15T23:50:48Z | 2023-09-15 23:50:48 | Lightness of touch is not a virtue usually associated with the exuberant Madrileño maestro, but he draws these themes together with gossamer delicacy. |
| 169059 | Sarah Vincent | Cambridge Day | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2023-08-16T02:09:08Z | 2023-08-16 02:09:08 | But after six decades, Almodóvar is finally ready to confront this generational, systemic trauma head-on, and the result will be poignant even for viewers unfamiliar with the history that provides the backdrop for the personal stories. |
| 169060 | Manuel São Bento | MSB Reviews (Ghost.io) | Fresh | B | 2023-07-25T21:13:51Z | 2023-07-25 21:13:51 | Parallel Mothers holds an unexpectedly shocking narrative about motherhood, featuring two remarkable performances from Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit. |
| 169061 | Stephen A. Russell | Sunday Arts Magazine Podcast (JOY 94.9) | Fresh | — | 2022-12-30T04:33:09Z | 2022-12-30 04:33:09 | An intimate story of two women making their way as new mothers, Almodovar also folds in Spanish history... stunning. |
| 169062 | Victor Esquirol | Otroscines.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-12-20T21:26:42Z | 2022-12-20 21:26:42 | The intimate drama and national tragedy intertwine. It's beautiful and painful. Very much. Just as it should be. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 169063 | David Nusair | Reel Film Reviews | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2022-12-16T13:25:14Z | 2022-12-16 13:25:14 | Parallel Mothers benefits from Cruz’s top-notch work and an ongoing emphasis on admittedly spellbinding plot twists and surprises... |
| 169064 | Leigh Paatsch | Herald Sun (Australia) | Fresh | — | 2022-09-08T19:43:56Z | 2022-09-08 19:43:56 | Not the filmmaker’s greatest by a long shot, but his loyal followers won’t be worried by slight dips in quality and substance. |
| 169065 | Zoë Rose Bryant | Loud and Clear Reviews | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2022-09-01T07:38:42Z | 2022-09-01 07:38:42 | Parallel Mothers doesn’t quite scale the heights of Pedro Almodóvar’s best work, but a phenomenal Penélope Cruz makes it worth a watch regardless. |
| 169066 | Yasser Medina | Cinefilia | Rotten | 5/10 | 2022-08-31T06:51:38Z | 2022-08-31 06:51:38 | Its infatuated with narrating, with much poignancy, a melodrama about motherhood and the historical memory of a nation that forgets the tragic past buried underground, with nothing revealing on the surface. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 169067 | Keith Garlington | Keith & the Movies | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-08-16T20:39:55Z | 2022-08-16 20:39:55 | “Parallel Mothers” shines brightest as a female-centric examination of motherhood, complete with all its joys and heartaches. Single parenting, absent fathers, family history – they all factor in. |
| 169068 | Prahlad Srihari | News9 Live (India) | Fresh | — | 2022-08-08T20:35:39Z | 2022-08-08 20:35:39 | The personal overlaps with the political, the familial with the historical, in Parallel Mothers. |
| 169069 | Sarah Ward | Concrete Playground | Fresh | — | 2022-06-25T06:11:48Z | 2022-06-25 06:11:48 | Sensual and savvy and always sublime, Parallel Mothers sells everything within its immaculate frames — and surrendering to its emotional, visual and thematic pull is as natural as life and death. |
| 169070 | Erick Estrada | Cinegarage | Fresh | — | 2022-06-23T22:20:57Z | 2022-06-23 22:20:57 | The titular parallelism isn't in Janis and Ana's stories, but in what they symbolize so we can understand the pain of all the mothers affected by the [Spanish] Civil War and its consequences. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 169071 | Catherine Bray | Film of the Week | Fresh | — | 2022-06-01T07:58:43Z | 2022-06-01 07:58:43 | A perfect storm of melodramatic plot elements, complex emotional reactions, and wild deceptions, it requires on the part of its director a simultaneous iron grip on tone, together with a certain paradoxical lightness of touch. |
| 169072 | Alejandro Lingenti | La Nación (Argentina) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-05-18T17:41:39Z | 2022-05-18 17:41:39 | Intense melodrama... [Full review in Spanish] |
| 169073 | Ruben Peralta Rigaud | Cocalecas | Fresh | — | 2022-05-16T21:48:37Z | 2022-05-16 21:48:37 | Surprising and emotional as Spain's history is masterfully blended within the narrative. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 169074 | Matt Brunson | Film Frenzy | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-04-16T16:58:09Z | 2022-04-16 16:58:09 | A shattering drama whose potency is occasionally diluted by an intrusive secondary storyline. |
| 169075 | Sucharita Tyagi | Film Companion | Fresh | — | 2022-04-15T01:33:45Z | 2022-04-15 01:33:45 | I can't stress enough just how incredibly great this film is. |
| 169076 | Hannah Brown | Jerusalem Post | Rotten | — | 2022-04-08T18:33:18Z | 2022-04-08 18:33:18 | I liked High Heels and I’m So Excited much more than I have his other, more portentous movies, partly because the others often seem so contrived, as does much of Parallel Mothers, with its soapy plot. |
| 169077 | Agustín Acevedo Kanopa | La Diaria | Rotten | 1/5 | 2022-03-30T02:48:11Z | 2022-03-30 02:48:11 | The big problem with Parallel Mothers is not that it mixes a lot of subplots that don't quite fit together, but rather that the candor that makes Almodóvar "Almodóvar" never materializes in that disembedding. |
| 169078 | John McDonald | Australian Financial Review | Fresh | — | 2022-03-29T22:19:59Z | 2022-03-29 22:19:59 | Ostensibly the highly personal story of two contemporary women, its also about Spains recent history and the scars of a brutal civil war passed down from one generation to the next. |
| 169079 | A.S. Hamrah | The Baffler | Fresh | — | 2022-03-28T20:43:50Z | 2022-03-28 20:43:50 | Almodóvar seems more contemporary the more he becomes an outlier to the mainstream of commercial cinema. |
| 169080 | Adam Nayman | The Ringer | Fresh | — | 2022-03-23T20:50:43Z | 2022-03-23 20:50:43 | Cruz may not be the favorite in the Best Actress race, but her performance in Pedro Almodóvar’s film is, well, unparalleled. |
| 169081 | Rene Sanchez | Cine Sin Fronteras | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-03-20T16:58:45Z | 2022-03-20 16:58:45 | Penélope Cruz is sensational in Almodóvar's latest melodrama, one that juxtaposes motherhood and the historical past of a nation to uncover their sorrows and secrets. Full Review in Spanish |
| 169082 | Scroll Staff | Scroll.in | Fresh | — | 2022-03-16T00:30:09Z | 2022-03-16 00:30:09 | While Milena Smit does a fine job as Ana, the film belongs to Penelope Cruz’s marvellously expressive face and controlled performance. |
| 169083 | Sankhayan Ghosh | Film Companion | Fresh | — | 2022-03-15T23:34:30Z | 2022-03-15 23:34:30 | Appropriately, Almodovar withholds information, both from the audience and the characters, revealing it carefully... |
| 169084 | David Reddish | Queerty | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2022-03-13T20:37:09Z | 2022-03-13 20:37:09 | Mysterious, captivating and evasive, Parallel Mothers reconfirms Almodóvar as one of the great directors working today with a story that defies easy meaning. |
| 169085 | Ronak Kotecha | The Times of India | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-03-10T17:47:14Z | 2022-03-10 17:47:14 | The strength of this artsy film lies in strong performances and genuine characters. Almodóvar delivers a heartrending drama about love, life and relationships with a pop of colours that never let it slip into the dark recesses of hopelessness. |
| 169086 | Carey-Ann Pawsey | Orca Sound | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-03-10T14:47:11Z | 2022-03-10 14:47:11 | Here, once again, Penelope Cruz reminds us that her talent and beauty are a combination that glues your eyes to her whenever she is onscreen. |
| 169087 | Gisela Savdie | Letra Urbana | Fresh | — | 2022-03-09T21:23:40Z | 2022-03-09 21:23:40 | Although the story may be predictable in some respects, the film contemplates the contradictions of its characters, women who, in one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, show true courage and resolution. Full review in Spanish |
| 169088 | Eleanor Ringel Cater | Saporta Report (Atlanta) | Fresh | — | 2022-03-05T01:37:33Z | 2022-03-05 01:37:33 | It is pure Pedro Almodovar -- bold, brilliant and, on occasion, exuberantly bonkers. |
| 169089 | Victoria Luxford | City AM | Fresh | 5/5 | 2022-03-03T17:30:26Z | 2022-03-03 17:30:26 | It feels like everything thats missing from mainstream American cinema can be found in an Almodovar film, including compelling female leads and exciting stories that dont require explosions or ludicrous twists. |
| 169090 | Jordan Ruimy | World of Reel | Fresh | B- | 2022-03-02T18:25:02Z | 2022-03-02 18:25:02 | Tonal issues aside, Almodovar throws a wealth of ideas for the audience to grasp here, they might never fully come together, but its an irresistible proposition to watch a high-caliber artist swing for the fences with this kind of ambition. |
| 169091 | Colm Toibin | The New York Review of Books | Fresh | — | 2022-03-01T00:31:22Z | 2022-03-01 00:31:22 | What might appear to be Almodóvar’s most political film gently nudges the characters back toward private life, just as some version of harmony or resolution is restored to their broken world. |
| 169092 | Lauren Humphries-Brooks | Citizen Dame | Fresh | — | 2022-02-28T14:59:58Z | 2022-02-28 14:59:58 | Parallel Mothers is ultimately about healing trauma through catharsis, the understanding and uncovering of the past as a way to push through into the future. Women are the repositories of trauma, working through the countrys collective suffering . |
| 169093 | Sarah Gopaul | Digital Journal | Fresh | — | 2022-02-19T01:14:00Z | 2022-02-19 01:14:00 | Director Pedro Almodvar sets out to tell two stories that intersect in Janis, though one somehow manages to make difficulties with the other easier to accept... |
| 169094 | John Lui | The Straits Times (Singapore) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-18T00:57:02Z | 2022-02-18 00:57:02 | Celebrated Spanish film-maker Pedro Almodovar makes one of his most overtly political films yet in this engrossing work, which operates in a present clouded by a stubbornly unresolved past. |
| 169095 | Brandon Judell | CultureCatch | Fresh | 10/10 | 2022-02-17T16:03:30Z | 2022-02-17 16:03:30 | A thrilling blend of deceit, lust, love, and a tale of two unwed heterosexual women . . . . Almodovar continues to fill in the void created by the deaths of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Pier Paolo Pasolini. |
| 169096 | Sean P. Means | The Movie Cricket | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2022-02-13T06:16:15Z | 2022-02-13 06:16:15 | Cruz has never given a better performance, capturing Janis's maternal joy and heartache beautifully. |
| 169097 | Ben Turner | The Pink Lens | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-02-12T13:32:20Z | 2022-02-12 13:32:20 | The film might not play the right notes, but Cruz certainly does. |
| 169098 | Brian Eggert | Deep Focus Review | Fresh | 4/4 | 2022-02-12T04:55:28Z | 2022-02-12 04:55:28 | Almodovar crafts a heartrending drama about a mothering impulse to treat wounds and nurture a healthy future, leading to a conversation about his country's Civil War and Francisco Franco's dictatorship. |
| 169099 | Jeff Nelson | Showbiz Cheat Sheet | Fresh | — | 2022-02-12T03:35:41Z | 2022-02-12 03:35:41 | Parallel Mothers uses what's lost and found as a significant thematic motif. It can be found in its examination of motherhood, friendship, romance, and ancestry. It's sentimental and significantly intimate. |
| 169100 | Chris Knight | National Post | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2022-02-11T18:10:26Z | 2022-02-11 18:10:26 | There are a lot of moving parts in Parallel Mothers, but the writer/director keeps things moving briskly and clearly through the film’s two hours. And credit must surely go to editor Teresa Font. |
| 169101 | David Walsh | World Socialist Web Site | Fresh | — | 2022-02-11T14:28:02Z | 2022-02-11 14:28:02 | With Parallel Mothers, historical questions make their way into Almodvars work for the first time. At one point, in fact, it was one of his claims to fame that they had not made such an appearance. |
| 169102 | Karen Gordon | Original Cin | Fresh | A | 2022-02-11T13:27:51Z | 2022-02-11 13:27:51 | Pedro Almodvar tells a story that is complex and engaging, and led by a superb performance by Penlope Cruz. |
| 169103 | Mark Johnson | Awards Daily | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-10T22:35:51Z | 2022-02-10 22:35:51 | While the mothers are intertwined in their own unraveling mysteries, Almodvar doubles down with a history lesson of the Spanish war, and the connection of the two stories signifying the importance of lineage. Top-notch Almodvar... an absolute must-see. |
| 169104 | Jorge Ignacio Castillo | Planet S Magazine | Rotten | 2/5 | 2022-02-10T21:51:23Z | 2022-02-10 21:51:23 | Not a single character behaves in a recognizably human way, yet Almodóvar expects us to be wrapped up in the moral dilemma at the centre of the film. |
| 169105 | Pat Mullen | That Shelf | Fresh | — | 2022-02-10T19:45:39Z | 2022-02-10 19:45:39 | Parallel Mothers is further proof that they're among the best actor-director film combos of this or any generation. This devastating melodrama sees both artists at the top of their game. |
| 169106 | Barry Hertz | Globe and Mail | Fresh | — | 2022-02-08T13:50:13Z | 2022-02-08 13:50:13 | I was both fairly sure what Parallel Mothers might be, and eager to be surprised. Thankfully, Almodóvar delivers on both fronts – as Almodóvar should almost always be entrusted to do. |
| 169107 | Tim Brayton | Alternate Ending | Fresh | 3.4/4 | 2022-02-07T09:37:04Z | 2022-02-07 09:37:04 | A polished and classy work of great talent and somewhat less gonzo ingenuity. |
| 169108 | Jane Freebury | The Canberra Times (Australia) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-07T05:27:03Z | 2022-02-07 05:27:03 | Intricate plot and bold, sumptuous mise-en-scene combine, with mixed success, a paean to motherhood and a prompt to recall recent history |
| 169109 | Michael Calleri | Niagara Gazette | Fresh | — | 2022-02-05T07:12:49Z | 2022-02-05 07:12:49 | The movie delivers all the necessary components of a good mystery. Surprises occur. The story shifts perfectly. |
| 169110 | Nick Hasted | The Arts Desk | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-04T19:50:19Z | 2022-02-04 19:50:19 | The machinery of filmmaking has vanished, Almodóvar’s experience letting him work invisibly, modestly. There are laughs, and tears, and mild, building unease... But nothing distracts from Parallel Mothers’ true, serious purpose. |
| 169111 | Hilary A White | Sunday Independent (Ireland) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-04T01:14:57Z | 2022-02-04 01:14:57 | With its plaintive, almost soapy narrative, gorgeous exterior, and sensitive denouement, Almodóvar is at his very best on this, his 22nd feature outing. |
| 169112 | Kristian M. Lin | Fort Worth Weekly | Fresh | — | 2022-02-04T01:12:53Z | 2022-02-04 01:12:53 | Cruz has consistently done her best acting for [Almodóvar], and her work here playing someone coping with the prospect of seeing her only chance at parenthood slip away is on a par with that other tormented mother she played in Volver. |
| 169113 | Graeme Tuckett | The Post NZ | Fresh | 5/5 | 2022-02-04T01:10:30Z | 2022-02-04 01:10:30 | The sound and the look of Parallel Mothers is routinely wonderful. But as ever, Almodovar’s greatest, most indelible achievement is a script that is as understated in its genius, as it is outrageous in its ambition and scope. |
| 169114 | Robin Holabird | KUNR (Reno, NV) | Fresh | — | 2022-02-03T17:56:02Z | 2022-02-03 17:56:02 | I sat back and enjoyed seeing the basic ingredients transform into a visually beautiful piece with substance and style... |
| 169115 | Jason Shawhan | Nashville Scene | Fresh | — | 2022-02-03T02:57:23Z | 2022-02-03 02:57:23 | Almodvar knows how to make a movie, and he does so with so much life that it makes other films seem anemic by comparison. |
| 169116 | David Stratton | The Australian | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2022-02-01T23:30:36Z | 2022-02-01 23:30:36 | If you're already a fan of Almodovar's work this is essential viewing; if you haven't been introduced to his very special world before, Parallel Mothers will be a great place to start. |
| 169117 | Shawn Edwards | Fox 4 Kansas City | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-02-01T22:20:28Z | 2022-02-01 22:20:28 | A complex story, told with simplicity... |
| 169118 | Matthew Bond | The Mail on Sunday (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-01-31T13:40:08Z | 2022-01-31 13:40:08 | This is intelligent, well-acted film-making and you can see why Cruz has been picking up award nominations. |
| 169119 | Andy Lea | Daily Express (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-31T13:30:08Z | 2022-01-31 13:30:08 | If this was an EastEnders storyline, you'd be rolling your eyes. But the taut performances, sharp dialogue and stylish direction keep the tension bubbling away. |
| 169120 | Edward Porter | Sunday Times (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-30T19:10:09Z | 2022-01-30 19:10:09 | Parallel Mothers is at its best when it stays in sync with its director's own past - by giving us a colourful, passionate domestic drama. |
| 169121 | Christopher Machell | CineVue | Fresh | 5/5 | 2022-01-29T22:30:30Z | 2022-01-29 22:30:30 | Parallel Mothers' web of unlikely coincidences and messy relationships could easily have felt like so many TV soap histrionics were it not for Almodóvar's unparalleled sensitivity and skill in weaving them together. |
| 169122 | Russ Simmons | KKFI-FM (Kansas City) | Fresh | — | 2022-01-29T19:10:18Z | 2022-01-29 19:10:18 | 4 "Parallel Mothers" is a complex and very adult and edgy drama that's that smartly tackles some thorny issues. |
| 169123 | John Urbancich | JMuvies | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-29T17:50:13Z | 2022-01-29 17:50:13 | No one paints women of all ages as extraordinarily as Pedro Almodovar, and so what if the master Spaniard's canvas is called the silver screen. |
| 169124 | Rosalynn Try-Hane | Battle Royale With Cheese | Fresh | — | 2022-01-29T16:50:11Z | 2022-01-29 16:50:11 | As with all his films, women are the beating heart and Parallel Mothers is no exception. |
| 169125 | Wendy Ide | Observer (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-29T15:20:07Z | 2022-01-29 15:20:07 | Most of all, it's Cruz who sets the tone, with a performance that radiates warmth and is refreshingly forgiving of her character's flaws. She has never been better. |
| 169126 | Mike McGranaghan | Aisle Seat | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2022-01-29T14:50:05Z | 2022-01-29 14:50:05 | This sensitive story about motherhood introduces some gasp-inducing twists on its way to a conclusion that leaves you choked up. |
| 169127 | Candice McMillan | Seattle Refined | Fresh | — | 2022-01-29T05:00:17Z | 2022-01-29 05:00:17 | Though at times it may feel like a jerky, underdeveloped ride, the rollercoaster of emotions at each revelation is well worth the admission ticket. |
| 169128 | Rachel Wagner | rachelsreviews.net | Fresh | 8.5/10 | 2022-01-29T00:21:04Z | 2022-01-29 00:21:04 | They are layered, emotionally true characters and both performances are Oscar-worthy. |
| 169129 | Tara Brady | Irish Times | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-28T23:41:02Z | 2022-01-28 23:41:02 | Even the dark excavation at the heart of the enterprise is delivered with wit, warmth and eye-popping colours. |
| 169131 | Paul Whitington | Irish Independent | Fresh | 5/5 | 2022-01-28T23:00:58Z | 2022-01-28 23:00:58 | This is Cruz's film: she sets the tone, moral and emotional, and guides the drama towards its dark and moving climax. |
| 169130 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Fresh | 6/10 | 2022-01-28T23:00:58Z | 2022-01-28 23:00:58 | Good acting overall and an interesting story but topped off with a weak ending. |
| 169132 | John Anderson | America Magazine | Fresh | — | 2022-01-28T23:00:57Z | 2022-01-28 23:00:57 | What won't be a surprise for those familiar with Almodóvar is the film's mix of restraint and extravagance, the director's delirious use of color, his ecstatic aesthetic and a sense of the theatrical. |
| 169133 | Katie Hogan | FILMHOUNDS Magazine | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-01-28T22:50:58Z | 2022-01-28 22:50:58 | Just concentrating on the main story, motherhood and unknown deception, Almodovar is truly at his best. |
| 169134 | Charlotte O'Sullivan | London Evening Standard | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-28T21:00:59Z | 2022-01-28 21:00:59 | I left the screening drenched in tears. |
| 169135 | Robert Horton | The Scarecrow | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-01-28T19:40:49Z | 2022-01-28 19:40:49 | It seems clearer than ever that all the handsome design is an embrace of style as a defiant and even courageous wedge against oppression, conformity, and whatever else you can name that threatens the spirit. |
| 169136 | Sandra Hall | Sydney Morning Herald | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-28T19:00:30Z | 2022-01-28 19:00:30 | This emphasis on moral integrity stamps it as one of Almodovar's most important and engaging films in some time. |
| 169137 | Lisa Johnson Mandell | AtHomeInHollywood.com | Fresh | — | 2022-01-28T18:20:20Z | 2022-01-28 18:20:20 | Pedro Almodvarand Penlope Cruz work their mutual magic in a mesmerizing, sensual and surprising drama de la corazon. |
| 169138 | Dulcie Pearce | The Sun (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-28T15:30:14Z | 2022-01-28 15:30:14 | The tumultuous plot twists constantly, linking back to darker times from Spain's past but balanced so deftly that it captivates. |
| 169139 | Brian Viner | Daily Mail (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-01-28T15:20:13Z | 2022-01-28 15:20:13 | There is plenty to admire. |
| 169140 | Dustin Chase | Galveston Daily News | Fresh | B- | 2022-01-28T03:10:56Z | 2022-01-28 03:10:56 | Don't let lack of awards consideration detour you from another Almodóvar experience in "Parallel Mothers." |
| 169141 | Clarisse Loughrey | Independent (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-28T01:51:14Z | 2022-01-28 01:51:14 | It's chaotic, at times, but it's pure. Doesn't that describe so much of who Almodóvar is as a filmmaker? |
| 169143 | George Elkind | Metro Times (Detroit, MI) | Fresh | — | 2022-01-28T00:51:11Z | 2022-01-28 00:51:11 | If Parallel seems not to pause and reflect often enough, it mirrors in this the ways in which we so often never get to -- while pressing a case for doing so all the same. |
| 169142 | Chance Solem-Pfeifer | Willamette Week | Rotten | 2/4 | 2022-01-28T00:51:11Z | 2022-01-28 00:51:11 | In Almodóvar's illustrious canon, Parallel Mothers is minor. Its heart shatters for mothers stranded by fate, men and nations, but surely it could do something more attentive with the pieces. |
| 169144 | Deborah Ross | The Spectator | Fresh | — | 2022-01-27T19:31:34Z | 2022-01-27 19:31:34 | Here we've often no idea what direction it's going to take and although the focus shifts it never feels fragmented. Instead, it all adds up to an immensely rich, satisfying whole. |
| 169145 | Danny Leigh | Financial Times | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-27T15:50:18Z | 2022-01-27 15:50:18 | Almodóvar is not typically one for messages, but... hard-won truths gleam from his quietly knockout new movie. |
| 169146 | Peter Bradshaw | Guardian | Fresh | 5/5 | 2022-01-27T15:30:18Z | 2022-01-27 15:30:18 | What an emotional experience. |
| 169147 | Alistair Harkness | Scotsman | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-27T14:30:12Z | 2022-01-27 14:30:12 | Pedro Almodóvar loves stories about lives intersecting in strange ways and his new film, Parallel Mothers, is one of his most intriguing to date. |
| 169148 | Josh Bell | The Inlander (Spokane, WA) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-01-27T11:50:20Z | 2022-01-27 11:50:20 | The plot encompasses a series of twists that could come off as manipulative or cheesy, but the actors find the truth and honesty in each new revelation. |
| 169149 | Ryan Gilbey | New Statesman | Fresh | — | 2022-01-26T20:50:36Z | 2022-01-26 20:50:36 | This is Pedro Almodóvar's 22nd film, and his seventh with Cruz. Is there another actor who more deftly combines high-wattage glamour and technical skill with a kind of shrugging casualness? |
| 169150 | Amelia Harvey | Frame Rated | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-26T19:30:26Z | 2022-01-26 19:30:26 | Approaching a dark cloud over Spain's history, via the more relatable story of motherhood and female friendship, makes the pain more accessible. Parallel Mothers never sugar-coats motherhood or womanhood |
| 169151 | Christopher Lloyd | The Film Yap | Fresh | 4/5 | 2022-01-26T14:00:13Z | 2022-01-26 14:00:13 | Pedro Almodóvar's latest is a soap opera-esque piece starring Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit as new mothers connected by fate. Not among his best, but as always a compelling look at the internal lives and struggles of women. |
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