Pedro Almodovar And Penelope Cruz Are Reteaming For Madrid-Set Drama ‘Madres Paralelas’

Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar is long overdue to make his English-language debut, which we recently learned would be an adaptation of Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women. However, that film is being delayed because of, you guessed it, COVID-19, and so the filmmaker will first go back to his roots with a Madrid-set film about mothers, and starring his forever muse, Penelope Cruz.

According to Spanish site El Pais (via TheFilmStage), Almodovar will followup his acclaimed drama Pain & Glory with a new film titled Madres Paralelas, which translates to Parallel Mothers. In the works for nearly a decade, the film was specifically written for Cruz, who says it will explore “the feminine world of new mothers, of mothers who are raising children in the first and second year.”  The story centers on two women in Madrid who give birth on the same day, and find their lives headed in parallel trajectories.

With Spain beginning to lift restrictions, the plan is for Almodovar to begin shooting early next year. Does that mean it could be ready for next year’s awards race? I’m sure that’s what he’s betting on.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.