Written by Belle McIntyre

The sheer delight of diving into an Almodovar film begins with the stunning cinematography – the art direction, lighting, the saturated colors, the sense of place and the set design are endlessly breathtaking. In this latest film he presents an intensely personal and melodramatic story with a historical Spanish context

His fascination with strong women feels like a tribute. He examines them with respect and intelligence endowing all of them with their own unique reality, quirks and flaws, without judgement or stereotyping. He does not condescend to or trivialize his female characters, many of which appear repeatedly in his films. I was happy to see Rossi de Palma as Elena, in a perfect role as a fashion magazine editor and best friend of Janis Martinez (Penelope Cruz), a professional photographer.

We begin in a photography studio with Janis shooting a portrait of a highly regarded forensic archaeologist for a feature article in Elena’s magazine. Coincidentally, Janis has been on a multi-year crusade to exhume a mass grave site in her village, where her great grandfather is believed to be buried along with many of the village elders during the Spanish Civil War. The conversation which follows the shoot allows Janis to put forward her proposal directly to Arturo, a person with the credentials and influence to make it happen. And the fact that he is also handsome and sexy and feels a tangible attraction to Janis is no surprise. The inevitable surrender makes perfect sense. But Almodovar has simply set the scene and used a visual metaphor of a billowing curtain to signify the denoument.

The outcome is profound. When Janis informs Arturo about his baby who she is firmly determined to have alone with no commitment. Arturo is married to a wife with cancer to whom he feels obliged to stand by. We are led to understand that they have been carrying on a casual affair and this seems to be a dealbreaker. Janis who is almost 40 is delighted.

In the maternity ward Janis shares a room with Ana (Milena Smit) a seventeen-year old pregnant by a group of classmates who took advantage of her. She is being forced to have the baby by her Catholic parents. The two women form a friendship as they both have difficult deliveries and babies who had to remain in the hospital under observation could not come home with them immediately.

The reconnections of all of these characters, the twists and surprises are handled with great agility and typical Almodovar aplomb. It is intricate and in less skilled hands could have not succeeded. To his eternal credit he resists the urge to pull your emotional strings. Rather, he leaves you with believable, complex characters who are making their way through life as best as then can. It is satisfying on all levels and shows Almodovar is still doing peak work.