MIFF MOVIE REVIEW: JULIETA



6/10 
Julieta lives under the constant shadow of a tragedy. When by chance she meets her daughter’s friend on a street in the city, her wound is disturbed and she is ready to face her past once more.
Almadovar’s movies are usually full of larger than life characters, plots that can change direction in the middle of the story and with sexuality often being the real focus. JULIETA is not such a movie. While it is a return to what Almadovar does best - going into the psyche of women and giving us an intense melodrama - it is a subtle and melancholic movie, that doesn’t feel quite complete.
Full of flash backs JULIETA is easy to follow, as her tragic past is revealed bit by bit. In a clever choice by the director, two leading ladies are representing her, not just at a different age, but also her different outlook on life. The movie is very much a split entity, just like the two faces of its protagonist, the country and the city. Locations in Spain are carefully chosen by Almodovar and play a major part in the story.
JULIETA's jazzy soundtrack of Alberto Iglesias, this director’s often collaborator, fits perfectly with its melancholic chords and repetitiveness that symbolizes the flow of life, years go by without a change. 
JULIETA, undoubtedly, is a beautifully shot and executed drama with performances to match, but it cannot compete with the director’s previous efforts. Just like Julieta herself, the viewer is suspended in the expectation of things to come. Just like Julieta’s life, the movie is ultimately unsatisfying.
QUICK FACTS
JULIETA is Almadovar’s 20th film 
In the first version of the film Meryl Streep was supposed to play the heroine. 
JULIETA is based on the book of short stories by Alice Munroe    



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