Julieta (2016), R, ★★1/2

Pedro Almodovar is one of the most influential voices of international cinema in the industry today. His films capture visual beauty in some profile shots and some great sequences throughout his lifetime that most professors and film students will study for a lifetime. His films of Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down! (it's ok), Broken Embraces, Talk to Her, Volver, The Skin I Live In (I was not fond of that movie) are an eclectic collection of cinema that people view and say that Almodóvar captured some poetry in his film and also in his characters. However, with his new film, I was a bit unimpressed and disappointed because of how uneven and self-indulgent his melodrama is. Even though it has stunning and detailed composition, I was a bit bored by his latest movie.

Julieta (Emma Suárez) is about to move in to Portugal with his boyfriend, Lorenzo (Darío Grandinetti). She is now re-acquainted with Antia's childhood friend, Beatriz (Michelle Jenner) in which she learns that Antia, Julieta's estranged daughter, is now in Switzerland, with her three children. Julieta leases an apartment somewhere in Madrid in which the address is so familiar that it is only way to contact Antia. As she anticipates her arrival, Julieta fills a journal with her childhood.

As we flashback in Julieta's younger life (Adriana Ugarte), as she meets a fisherman named Xoan (Daniel Grao) as she meets him on a train. He tells her about his life and that his wife is in a coma. The train stops sharply as the older man from Julieta's compartment, in which she has avoided and fled from, is killed. Xoan is sympathetic and makes love to her. After the news that his wife has died, Xoan has returned and resumed with their relationship but Julieta has news that she is pregnant.

Three generations.

Hmm...this is going to get me in some trouble because Almodóvar is one of the best directors alive out there but I did not like this movie because he incorporates so much melodrama and devices onto the flashback sequence that he loses touch and focus on some of the characters that we are growing to like and wanted to get familiar with. Their emotional ties with certain characters are barely there as the movie's runtime does not allow for them to be more complex or become acquainted. It is mostly a parable with certain characters and the emotional payoff does not work with some of them.

I will say this that both Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte give very solid performances as her character is so well-nuanced and complex that her character becomes frustrated and also guilty in the flashback and sometimes both in some scenes as she tries to have connection with her character which was the best element of the movie. However, I wanted more scenes and depth between her character and the daughter and we get some emotional payoff with their relationship towards the end that it's too little too late. The movie is minimal and a bit uninspiring that some of the supporting characters are just fill-ins or fluff to move the plot along and to create some unnecessary tension. It is a rental but I was disappointed in Almodóvar as to how much focus he lost in the story and the main characters for a big portion of the movie that he paid more attention in its color, style and sweeping, metaphorical shots to gain back my attention. This movie is a well-acted, constructed curiosity rather than a well-acted, complete story.

**1/2