--- title: "Parallel Mothers: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/parallel-mothers/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/parallel-mothers" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 24 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Parallel Mothers (2021): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 24 reviews: 23 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics warmly receive Parallel Mothers, praising Almodóvar’s emotionally direct melodrama and its connection between motherhood and Spain’s unresolved Civil War history. Penélope Cruz attracts the clearest agreement: the reviews repeatedly credit her with grounding the story’s more extravagant turns through quiet intensity, empathy and emotional complexity. Praise also gathers around the women’s relationships, the vivid visual design and the film’s treatment of loss and remembrance, with many finding its political concerns inseparable from its personal stories. The spread is chiefly one of enthusiasm rather than approval versus rejection, with reservations concentrated on cohesion, pacing and familiarity. Empire finds the middle less gripping, while The Hollywood Reporter notes predictable disclosures but still finds the drama satisfying. Eye for Film is less persuaded by the handling of history, finding it tonally weaker, though it praises Milena Smit and José Luis Alcaine’s cinematography; most critics regard the historical dimension as a strength. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 13 January 2022. Calhoun presents the film as a haunting, resonant exploration of Spain’s past and present. He singles out Penélope Cruz’s magnificent performance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/parallel-mothers-2021) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. Jenkins regards the film as one of Almodóvar’s finest, praising its emotional depth and assured filmmaking. He especially singles out Penélope Cruz’s performance as extraordinary and emotionally powerful. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/festivals/parallel-mothers-venice-film-festival-review) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2021. Chang gives the film a strongly admiring verdict, praising how Almodóvar intertwines motherhood with the legacy of the Spanish Civil War. He singles out Penélope Cruz’s radiant, complex performance as the story’s emotional center. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-12-23/parallel-mothers-review-penelope-cruz-pedro-almodovar) ## The AV Club — Leila Latif Rating A-. 21 December 2021. Latif calls the film an outstanding melodrama and praises the trust between Almodóvar and Cruz. Cruz’s performance is singled out for its ability to convey Janis’s devastation with quiet intensity. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/penelope-cruz-reunites-with-pedro-almodovar-for-the-out-1848225910) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 2021. Brody finds the film a breathless, politically urgent melodrama whose personal stories make historical memory essential. He especially praises Penélope Cruz’s focused performance and Almodóvar’s vivid, documentary-like treatment of the mass-grave excavation. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/parallel-mothers-reviewed-a-breathless-romance-sparked-by-a-fight-for-historical-truth) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. Gleiberman finds the film moving and emotionally grounded, calling it Almodóvar’s best since All About My Mother. He praises its transporting final unification of motherhood’s life force with the history of Franco-era atrocities. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/parallel-mothers-review-penelope-cruz-pedro-almodovar-1235053525/) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Rating 3.5/4. 11 October 2021. The critic calls it one of Almodóvar’s most robust and moving melodramas, praising how it intertwines personal family stories with Spain’s history. He particularly singles out the film’s layered cross-associations and vivid décor as ways of revealing how the past shapes the present. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/parallel-mothers-review-pedro-almodovar/) ## IndieWire — Nicholas Barber Rating B+. 1 September 2021. Festival review. Barber finds the film breezy and inviting, though its familiar melodrama does not grip as strongly as its storytelling charms. He praises the moving conclusion, which gives emotional weight to the story of Spanish Civil War disappearances. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/parallel-mothers-review-almodovar-cruz-1234661307/) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2022. Freer finds the film terrifically entertaining, though its grip slackens in the middle. He especially praises Penélope Cruz, whose empathetic performance grounds the film’s outlandish turns. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/parallel-mothers/) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Rating 4/5. 28 January 2022. O'Sullivan calls the film naughty and knotty, ranking it among Almodóvar’s best work. She singles out Penélope Cruz’s performance as the force underpinning the film. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/parallel-mothers-movie-review-pedro-almodovar-penelope-cruz-b979061.html) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 4/5. The review finds the film gripping and emotionally satisfying as it combines melodrama with Spanish Civil War history. It particularly praises Penélope Cruz’s glowing performance as a woman coping with heartbreaking deception. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-d70atj/parallel-mothers/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. Rooney finds the melodrama gripping and emotionally satisfying, despite predictable disclosures and fewer intricately layered elements than Almodóvar’s finest work. He especially praises Penélope Cruz’s performance and the film’s sumptuous visual design. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/penelope-cruz-in-pedro-almodovars-parallel-mothers-madres-paralelas-1235006665/) ## The Guardian — Xan Brooks Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. Brooks finds the film turbulent but generous, ultimately hopeful, despite some ingredients not quite gelling. He praises its warm celebration of female solidarity and its ambition in connecting family secrets with Spain’s violent past. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/01/parallel-mothers-review-pedro-almodovar-penelope-cruz-venice-film-festival) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2021. Dargis’s review is positive about Almodóvar’s melodrama and its intertwining of personal and historical stories. It singles out the film’s women and their relationships for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/movies/parallel-mothers-review.html) ## Screen Daily — Lee Marshall Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. The standfirst presents the film as a powerful story of loss and remembrance. It highlights that story as the film’s central strength. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/parallel-mothers-venice-review/5162901.article) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. Newland finds the melodrama warm and deeply felt, though overstuffed and messy. She singles out Penélope Cruz’s career-best performance for praise. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/parallel-mothers-pedro-almodovar-venice-film-festival-review-penelope-cruz-delivers-a-career-best-in-queer-melodrama-1178590?ico=in-line_link) ## Film Comment — Manuel Yáñez Murillo Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The standfirst presents the film’s search for personal and historical truth as its driving force. It singles out the film’s openly political focus, but the available text does not reveal a fuller verdict. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/secrets-and-lies-parallel-mothers-pedro-almodovar/) ## The Skinny — Anahit Behrooz Rating ★★★★★. 4 September 2021. The review calls the film an audacious, radically human work that balances melodrama with political maturity. It praises Almodóvar’s restrained handling of the women’s emotional lives and the film’s probing of historical memory. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/parallel-mothers) ## Deadline — Stephanie Bunbury Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. Bunbury calls the film a triumph, praising Almodóvar’s delicate handling of love, loss and historical trauma. She also singles out its emotionally powerful score and wallop of an ending. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2021/09/parallel-mothers-review-pedro-almodovar-penelope-cruz-1234825586/) ## Paste — Natalia Keogan Rating 8.8. 12 October 2021. Keogan finds the film a deeply political and emotionally devastating reckoning with Spain’s history. She praises Penélope Cruz’s performance and the film’s sensitive treatment of unresolved family and national trauma. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/pedro-almodovar/parallel-mothers-review) ## /Film — Marshall Shaffer Rating 8.5/10. 11 September 2021. Festival review. Shaffer finds the film both a familiar Almodóvar work and a meaningful artistic evolution. He especially praises how it connects the director’s recurring themes to Spain’s unresolved Civil War trauma and women’s strength. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/601485/parallel-mothers-review-director-pedro-almodovar-gets-both-familiar-and-evolutionary-venice-2021/) ## NME Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The review finds Almodóvar’s melodrama politically weighty and ultimately hopeful. It particularly praises Penélope Cruz’s performance and the film’s compassionate treatment of motherhood and historical memory. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/parallel-mothers-review-pedro-almodovar-3149305) ## Eye for Film — Andrew Robertson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2022. Robertson finds the film richly rewarding for Almodóvar fans, though its approach to history is tonally weaker. He particularly praises Milena Smit’s presence and José Luis Alcaine’s cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/parallel-mothers-2021-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2021. Festival review. The critic finds the film rougher and less cohesive than Almodóvar’s recent work, but exciting in its ambition and vitality. They praise the director’s visual craft and the performances, especially the leads’ wordless exchanges. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/parallel-mothers-film-review-pedro-almodovar-penelope-cruz-madres-paralelas/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/parallel-mothers.md