Pedro Almodóvar is one of our most prolific working auteurs, but his output has neither slowed nor diminished in power during the pandemic. Following the lockdown-shot short The Human Voice, he quickly returns with one of his finest and most politically observant films yet, centering on two women giving birth at the same time: a nurturing photographer Janis (Penélope Cruz, in a career-topping performance) and teenager Ana (Milena Smit). When reunited years later, the two form a close bond that will be threatened by a revelation about the birth of their two daughters. Blending his gifts for rapturous female-led melodrama with his Hitchcock-tinged reveals, Almodóvar molds a story of two women that both reflects and grapples with the lingering aftereffects of the Spanish Civil War. Parallel Mothers is Almodóvar on a new level, tackling national themes within a thrilling, intimate scope.