Pedro Almodóvar Is Eternally Maternal in ‘Parallel Mothers’
“Cruz has forged a lasting partnership with Pedro Almodóvar, and ‘Parallel Mothers’ — their seventh movie together — is arguably the most satisfying collaboration.”
A Wild Ride in the Bullpen: How a Young Pedro Almodóvar Upended Genre and Gender
“For all the praise showered on Almodóvar’s later work, it lacks the wildness, freshness and exuberance of his 80s filmography, which often feels unfairly overlooked as a result.”
Nuns and ‘Dark Habits’: Spoiling God’s Servants
“By spoiling God’s servants with sex, drugs and doubt, films like Almodóvar’s ‘Dark Habits’ show that earnestly criticising the Catholic Church’s crimes is not the only way to weaken centuries of unchecked supremacy.”
Strength, Solidarity and Grace: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’ Is an Ode to Womanhood
“Pedro Almodóvar adores women, and he’s a champion of feminism. In no other film is the Spanish filmmaker’s reverence for the female gender more evident than in the 2006 drama ‘Volver.'”
Antonio and Almodóvar
Fedor Tot on Pedro Almodóvar’s Collaborations with Antonio Banderas
Director on the Verge of Change: The Controlled Chaos of Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Julieta’
“One of the great pleasures of watching any Almodóvar film, but especially ‘Julieta,’ is studying its expressionistic textures…”
Illness and Self-Reflection: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Broken Embraces’ and ‘Pain and Glory’
“By experiencing Almodóvar’s films as the product of a man whose view of the world is deeply affected by a variety of nagging medical concerns, only a few late period works thoroughly scratch under the surface of his psyche.”
London Film Festival 2018 Review: Carlos Vermut’s ‘Quién te cantará’
“‘Quién te cantará’ is a cold, mournful study of mothers and daughters living despite each other, filtered through a mystery with a popstar shaped hole at its centre.”
The Serious Camp of Natalie Portman
“Reviews may be breathlessly overusing the ready-made formulation of ‘Natalie Portman IS Jackie,’ but they really should be following Sontag’s lead: Natalie Portman IS ‘Jackie.'”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Dark Habits’ (Pedro Almodóvar, 1983)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Seminci 2015: In the Female-Directed Debuts ‘Princess’ and ‘Flocking,’ Tainted Lolitas Struggle for Innocence
Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid: Andreea Pătru on Beata Gårdeler’s ‘Flocking” and Tali Shalom-Ezer’s ‘Princess’