Juliet (2016) – 50 shades of red
Yesterday, a new film by Pedro Almodóvar was released. Avid fans of the Spanish director will surely enjoy typical Almodovar techniques and see references to already beloved paintings. But a simple layman is likely to get bored, and simply will not believe. In fear of tomatoes already flying at me for criticism, I will still complain to you.
After several genre experiments, Almodovar returns to its origins and shoots a “female” drama about family relationships. In the center of the plot is a Spaniard Juliet, who has not seen her daughter Atilia for 12 years. She disappeared without leaving a trace, and only occasionally sent her mother empty postcards without a return address for her own damn birthday. After many years of searching and waiting, Juliet again feels a sense of guilt and longing for her daughter and she decides to write her a letter, telling her whole story, starting with meeting Atilia’s father.
Juliet's story turns out to be a series of losses of people close to her. The girl is not at all Spanish accumulates all feelings and emotions, which, according to the director’s idea, ruins her life. As a result, understatement and non-conflict negatively affect the whole picture. The film turns out to be overly long and leisurely, and even the bright colors of perfectly built interiors mainly in red do not hold the viewer’s attention. The dialogue of the characters and the play of the actors, unfortunately, look implausible and artificial, and repel their “plasticity”, as well as the ridiculous hairstyle of the heroine Adriana Ugarte.
Of course, it should be noted that from a visual point of view, the picture looks very appetizing. Every detail that the director pays attention to, every statuette, every pattern on the wallpaper, every book in Juliet’s closet seems to be about to play a fatal role, open a secret door, give us a look inside out of the characters and turn everything inside out. But in the end, all these colorful objects, like Juliet herself and all the characters around her, continue to be sadly silent. The viewer can only swallow with sadness the accumulated anticipation of the exhilarating drama and silently leave the hall.
The film ' Juliet' became my acquaintance with director Pedro Almodovar. I had heard about his achievements in cinema before, but for some reason, his films never reached my hands. But after watching his new tape, which I really got into, I decided to get acquainted with other paintings of the Spanish director.
The plot tells about the difficult life of a woman named Juliet. A terrible tragedy occurred with her, the consequence of which was the separation from her only daughter for 12 long years. The main theme for reflection in the film was the relationship between parents and children. This topic is revealed in great detail and depth, shown to the viewer from different sides. In addition, the tape is full of a variety of messages and metaphors. The film offers to reflect on the theme that every action has a consequence that one action can change a lifetime. Each viewer will find something for himself in this picture.
The pace of the film is very calm and leisurely. Sometimes the tape may seem too monotonous, but I would not take it to the disadvantages. This pace suits this picture, it sets the right mood for reflection.
Although the cast ' Juliet' is not full of big names, each of the actors plays his role sensually and heartfeltly. Amazingly played Adrian Ugarte and Emma Suarez, the performer of the role of young and, accordingly, aged Juliet. It’s amazing how both actresses played the same character. The facial expressions and emotions of one heroine were masterfully conveyed by each of the actresses. It turned out from two parts to collect a single image of the character. In general, no member of the composition here is not a hack. Even if the actor plays a very small role, he does it with diligence.
In addition, the tape looks very beautiful. And picturesque views of the sea coast, and fascinating landscapes of the winter forest, and modest city streets give you a very diverse palette of emotions. The atmosphere of the tape is emphasized by a well-chosen musical accompaniment.
In the end 'Juliet' is a great psychological drama, sometimes cheerful and joyful, sometimes sad and sad. This film is not suitable for recreation or entertainment, but if you like to think, think about the tape while watching, then you should definitely get acquainted with this picture.
Every film by Pedro Almodóvar is an event not to be missed. The legendary director, who once discovered the star of Antonio Banderas and personally put on the pedestal of honor the charming Penelope Cruz like no one else knows what a family drama is and how it should be presented. A quick glance through the filmography of Almodóvar, you can see that he tries in all his works to touch on the difficult themes of the relationship between parents and children, the older generation and the younger, as well as the motives of tension between people with opposite interests. A decade and a half ago, the Spanish genius received the long-awaited Oscar for the heartwarming, but at the same time incredibly light dramatic story All About My Mother. Many critics still consider this work the most significant in Almodóvar’s career, and that after it he did not remove anything even remotely resembling this epic. Such reasoning should go into oblivion with “Juliet”, the last film of the director, in which he boasts of the best creative form for many years.
The strength of “Julietta” is undeniably the fact that its script is set at once on several stories by Alice Munro, who is considered a noble specialist in revealing the fates of ordinary people who fell into an extraordinary situation. Combining several stories, Almodovar returns the viewer to old Europe, emphasizes her deliberately imposing, slow lifestyle and leads to the most important event of the whole film, the tragedy of Juliet herself (Emma Suarez), an elderly woman in whose eyes reads the incomprehensible pain experienced in ancient times. Once in the life of a woman huddled a ray of light named Antia. A cheerful, brisk daughter brightened up the gray everyday life of Juliet, but as soon as the girl passed into a difficult age, her mother could not find a common language with her, which eventually resulted in a long 12 years of separation, and who knows whether once close people will be able to get back together.
The plot quickly comes to life when Juliet finds signs of Antia’s presence in Italy, after which the woman, who has made clear plans for the future, throws away all that she had to live all these years and returns to the old apartment in Madrid, where she lived with Antia. Sitting down at the table, taking a piece of paper from a pack and twisting a pen in her hands, Juliet returns in time and tries to document the events that served as a turning point in her life. With a slight movement of Almodovar’s hand, we jump between the years and try to follow the unusually tumultuous life of the seemingly humble Juliet. Like everyone else, she makes mistakes, is happy and sad. These emotions are reflected in her daughter Antia directly, affecting the character of the little girl, gradually turning into a self-sufficient woman with unforeseen intentions.
Pedro Almodovar tried to catch a small elusive episode from the past of Juliet, in order to build on it the tragedy of the life of the main character. Leading the viewer to the turning point of history, the director is in no hurry to shift our attention to the future, because the past is fraught with much more unknown secrets, the knowledge of which should not be abandoned. After all, “Juliet” was not for nothing named in honor of a woman who decided to atone. Antia is the reason for what we see on the screen, but it is not the only center of gravity. Believe me, in “Juliet” you will see a lot of interesting, tense and fun. That's what Almodovar is all about. Have a good time!
A mother and her baby... There are probably no people closer to each other. From the moment of birth to old age, they are connected by a strong relationship that cannot be confused with anything, but there are such joyless cases in our difficult life when the paths of mother and child diverge too early and, in all likelihood, will never meet again. The reasons for this can be myriad and behind each of them there is an unforeseen circumstance that deserves close consideration. In 2013, the eminent Canadian writer Alice Munro was awarded the long-awaited Nobel Prize in literature, and since then her work has attracted the close attention of Pedro Almodovar, a man who, along with Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, is associated with Spanish cinema. Inspired by Munro’s stories, which weave into a single thread of intrigue, love, racial prejudice and the hope that someday the clouds will disperse in the sky, Pedro Almodovar gave fans his next masterpiece, entitled “Juliet”.
As for the plot of the film, it introduces us to the elderly, but very attractive Spanish Juliet in the shrill performance of Emma Suarez. Once her life was filled with a genuine, multifaceted tragedy, which can not be told in a few sentences. Being a young and desirable beauty, Juliet could not protect her family from pain, because of which she had to say goodbye to her own daughter Antia for 12 years. During this time, anything could happen to the girl, but the trail to her disappeared a long time ago and Juliet had to close this tragic page of her own chronicle in order to move forward. But the past, as we know, tends to catch up with us when we did not expect it. A meeting with an old friend aroused in Antia weeping for days long gone by, when she could at any moment enter the room of her little daughter and hug her with all the power of motherly love. The obsession to atone for sins ends all plans of the heroine. After saying goodbye to her lover and canceling a trip to Portugal, Juliet sits down at the table and writes a lifelong letter. He has no addressee, but he has everything that has accumulated in Juliet’s soul over the years. A woman sincerely wants to deserve forgiveness, but who knows if she can achieve it.
Pedro Almodóvar’s tape is not in a hurry, because sometimes you need to stop, cast yourself and your surroundings with a sober look and build a chain of events in order to find out when an irreparable mistake was made and whether it could have been avoided. The main character of the story, Juliet, indulges in memories that come to life right before our eyes. We meet the heroine in different periods of her life, get acquainted with friends, boyfriends and, most importantly, little Antiya, played by several skillful young actresses at once. Despite the prospects of universal tragedy, Almodovar is in no hurry to throw the narrative into an ocean of bombast and false experiences. He knows more than anyone what life is and how it is worth serving.
In conclusion, I want to say that “Juliet” is a real gift for people who want to see on the big screens a piece of reality, presented as it is. And if you say why watch in the movies what is happening outside the window, I remind you that “Juliet” was shot by Pedro Almodovar himself, a master of comprehending human souls and showing their sides with the filigree of a goldsmith. And that means a lot.
It’s no secret that Almodóvar’s new film has been long awaited. After quite passable "Lovers of Passengers" (who in our box office for some reason called "I am very excited") it seemed the master is waiting for a slow and painful extinction, self-repeats, prizes for seniority and in general the role of the wedding general at festivals.
But no. Spanish blood is a hot cocktail of sun, wine and woman. And Almodóvar's new film is a triumphant comeback.
Almodovar decided to return to the world of women, the universe where he was always comfortable. The director chose for the adaptation of the novella by the Canadian writer Munro, combined them into one story - the search story. An adult girl finds out that her escaped daughter is alive. A tangle of secrets, intrigues, memories begins to unwind.
Almodovar here uses a very large and small symbolism, no longer obscured by its expressive entourage and eccentric characters as before.
Sculpture is like a child in a woman’s hands (the creation of a man, a woman as a demiurge), like sculpting – oneself, memories, men.
The train is a symbol of travel, road, path to and from oneself. And what's most important for Almodóvar is the encounters, the unexpected, the unexpected, the door to chance, to destiny that anyone can open and that opens before Juliet.
The key role, of course, is in color, and the main role is in red. It is put on the poster, it begins the first scene, it in different variations will be one way or another present in the frame. Life, blood, death, birth - to enumerate the meanings of color can be endless, but in Almodóvar it is rather the color of the feminine principle, the Woman as such. He supports it, saves it, gives it power and takes it away. Helps and can destroy.
Blue and yellow are the colors of the sky and sea, sand and sun.
White is the color of isolation, emptiness.
Alomodovar does not hesitate to fill the entire screen with bright, greasy color strokes. There is a minimum of dialogue, a minimum of explanation. The viewer should feel this picture, let it in. It is not for nothing that the director himself says that it is best to watch the picture twice and only on the big screen, because when you no longer need to follow the plot, suddenly you see the power and beauty of the lines, overflows, you begin to feel the emotion that is behind the semi-detective intrigue, the search, the meetings. Suddenly it takes your breath and you hear the sound of the surf, the cries of seagulls, blinds your eyes from the sand ... you go back to the past and it seems that everything can be understood, you can still manage.
10 out of 10
He filled his heart with water to drown his senses.
Almodóvar’s new film fits perfectly into the OIFF 2016 program. Imagine a hot summer day on July 16, 2016. One and a half thousand people stand in the shadow of the 20-meter building of the Festival Palace, waiting for the film, perhaps (since there is still Woody Allen) the most eminent director of the whole festival. The audience is welcomed by modern Ukrainian film researcher Lukyan Galkin. Not Almodovar himself, but not bad either. The atmosphere indicates rather a holiday, which is confirmed in the future even smiles and laughter while watching the film.
Being textbook and dramatic, the picture tells the story of the life of one beautiful lady. An ordinary woman whose life and tears are not very different from others. There is nothing special in the film, and if not for the main character, who stands out for her appearance, it would be difficult to guess Almodóvar in it. Of course, there were also less noticeable attributes: a running deer, snot instead of tears. The film was created as if to report to a bored viewer. An exemplary festival drama, reviews about which people did not differ much. Their sentence was: 7 out of 10. Beautiful sea, beating dishes, live dialogues and bright colors, naked feelings. This makes cinema seem too feminine. For women, it feels like you're in a barbershop with only one narrator. And it's not you, but the lady with scissors and a hairdryer.
This is after, but while watching on the screen there are strange events, once again ordinary people play beautiful people. And the strange thing is that it is impossible not to fall in love with their characters. The heroine Ugarte is so attracted to her that you do not want to part with her throughout the film. I want to dance with her, holding her hand in May. I want to drown in her hair and never come up again; lock her starlight in a lamp; touch her skin and get burned; shout out her name to the whole room. I thought I spent my last smile on a selfie, but then I saw her. I can't hide it, while watching the heart, beating so hard, scratched the ribs. But reaching out to the screen, I felt frustrated - the subtitles didn't reciprocate. The fascination with this woman lasted exactly 100 minutes, after which the scorching sun burned all memories of her. You can fall in love with Juliet, but only once. When you leave history, you forget about it.