I feel like I grew up, in terms of my film watching with Pedro Almodovar. I had already discovered some great foreign language films on BBC2 and Channel 4, but it was in the mid 80s that I started to see them at the cinema, and his What Have I Done to Deserve This? in 1984 was one of the first.
It was just as he was coming to prominence as a writer-director on an international stage and he was just starting to go on a remarkably consistent run of film making. From Dark Habits in 1982 to 2006’s Volver he produced 14 films of high quality. In my opinion, he has tailed-off a little since then, but Matilda can rate among some of his best work.
Although not as over-the-top as some of his earlier work, Julieta is still unmistakably a film by Almodovar. With the emphasis on strong female characters and their relationships and with a slightly heightened stylistic feel, it has the Spanish auteur’s fingerprints all over it.
I particularly enjoyed the opening act, as we see the titular Julieta (Emma Suarez) in late middle age, struggling emotionally with events in her past as she contemplates moving from Madrid to Portugal. The scenes of her walking around the city, accompanied by Alberto Iglesias’ Bernad Herrman like score and with Jean-Claude Larrieu’s lush cinematography have a real Hitchcockian feel. Suarez is excellent in those moments, conveying so much with just a look.
We then flashback to the 80s when Julieta (played now by Adriana Ugarte) was a young teacher. Her initial appearance on a night time train journey with a suicidal man and where she meets her future boyfriend Xoan (Daniel Grao) is intriguing with a really mysterious air. After that though, her relationship with Xoan plays out a little too conventionally, though Almodovar stalwart Rossy De Palma is great as a slightly sinister housekeeper.
However, as the two story lines merge together and Julieta’s daughter Antia becomes more prominent the film moves into another gear. Blanca Parés’ brief appearance as the older Antia is the third top class performance by an actress in this movie.
Dealing well with themes of guilt and family relationships, I was hooked for most of the running time. I liked the cyclical nature of events and how most of the dramatic moments occur off-screen.
Rating: 8 out of 10