Pedro Almodóvar is the most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker. He was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the deprived Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn’t study filmmaking because he didn’t have the money to afford it. Besides, the filmmaking schools were closed in early 70s by Franco’s government. Instead, he found a job in the Spanish phone company and saved his salary to buy a Super 8 camera. From 1972 to 1978, he devoted himself to make short films with the help of of his friends. The “premieres” of those early films were famous in the rapidly growing world of the Spanish counter-culture. In few years, Almodóvar became a star of “La Movida”, the pop cultural movement of late 70s Madrid.
Nearly fifty years later and with more than 20 films on his shoulders Almodóvar presents Madres paralelas, “Parallel Mothers”, another intimate portrayal of womanhood in this story of two mothers who give birth on the same day.
The film it’s been released in the UK this week and we can’t wait to go to the cinema, grab popcorn or a glass of wine and get immersed in this provocative and sumptuous drama acclaimed as one of the best performances by the main actress, Penelope Cruz.
