Julieta review: “Involving but un-affecting…”

Julieta review: Pedro Almodóvar’s latest examines a tortured woman in modern-day Madrid in a tale of love, loss and ultimately guilt.

Julieta review, conducted at the Cannes Film Festival 2016.

Pedro Almodóvar returns to Cannes with Julieta, one of the few films to have already had a release in its domestic territory (where it has already done quite nicely in terms of box-office). The film tells the story of the title character Julieta Joven (played by both Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suárez), a woman who is about to move from the busy cityscape of Madrid to a more relaxed environment in Portugal with her new lover Lorenzo (Darío Grandinetti). However, after a chance meeting with a childhood friend of her daughter, Julieta (played in the modern-day by Suárez) immediately changes her mind and opts to remain in Madrid, relocating to her old apartment block which she once shared with her only child, Antía.

Julieta’s motives are revealed almost immediately – it seems that she has had no contact with Antía for over twelve years, and decides to confront history by writing a detailed letter to her daughter, a plot device that allows the story to play out in flashback, where the younger version of Julieta is introduced, played by Adriana Ugarte. Almodóvar takes us on a journey into the young life of Julieta, meeting Xoan (Daniel Grao), the father of Antía, and continuing through to the sudden disappearance of her beloved child.

Almodóvar takes to the source material of the book Runaway by Canadian writer Alice Munro, and three short stories, “Chance”, “Soon” and “Silence”, from within it. It is the accomplished Spanish director’s 20th motion picture, and one which displays a return to form following the dire I’m So Excited back in 2013.

Julieta‘s strengths come from the stunning visuals created by the gifted Jean-Claude Larrieu, who teams with Almodóvar for the first time, and also the wonderful brooding, sometimes booming score from Alberto Iglesias, who delivered an equally impressive soundtrack for 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The performances are solid, most notably from the two actresses playing our lead, and both convey the themes of the film in their delivery – love, loss, mourning, and ultimately guilt.

Sadly, the film does drag out its narrative, which surprises as it swiftly covers the span of thirty years in its relatively short running time. It also never quite packs as much of an emotional punch as it maybe could have, which is a shame because the story is really quite involving and the audience feels a lot of warmth for the tormented title character.

I liked Julieta, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to love it, no matter how much I wanted to.

Julieta is currently playing at the Sydney Film Festival.

Julieta will be released in the UK on 26th August, 2016.