Pedro Almodvar is the wild man of world cinema, a great, flamboyant talent whose films shimmer with his own vivid and hotly sexual take on the world. Not this time. Julieta, adapted from a trio of short stories by Pulitzer-winning Canadian writer Alice Munro, is more of the author than Almodvar the movie is a genuflection to the restraint and detail of her prose. This isnt a bad thing. Its just a different approach for the Spanish provocateur.
The plot unfolds, over three decades, in the form of a thriller. Almodvar sets Munros story of Vancouver mother Juliet Henderson in Madrid. Shes now Julieta, a Hitchcock blonde played in youth by the vibrant Adriana Ugarte and in her older years by Emma Surez. When we meet the mature version, a teacher of classical literature, shes preparing to leave Madrid for Portugal with her partner Lorenzo (Daro Grandinetti). Julietas recent life has been dominated by a search for her daughter Antia (played in ascending age order by Ariadna Martn, Priscilla Delgado and Blanca Pars), who disappeared mysteriously 13 years ago, shortly after attending a religious retreat. Almost ready to move on, our heroine runs into her daughters best friend, who speaks of having recently seen Antia. So all bets are off. Julieta sticks to home and the search is on.
Almodvar uses flashbacks to reveal the dynamics of this mother-daughter relationship. Julietas affair with a fisherman, Xoan (Daniel Grao), results in marriage and the birth of their child. But when tragedy intrudes and questions arise about possible infidelity involving a sculptress (Inma Cuesta), the character finds her life in disarray. Its here, in a gorgeous scene in which Ugartes Julieta emerges from a bathtub and turns into Suarez, that the film cuts to its core themes about love and betrayal. The filmmaker is surprisingly stingy at revealing the details of what went wrong between the family members, and audiences may find their patience tested. But Almodvars admiration for Munro is not misplaced. Despite rough patches, Julieta morphs into a haunting and hypnotic tribute to both their talents.
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