Julieta Blu-ray review
Mathew Plale
April 10th, 2017
Something seems unrattled, unhinged in the woman, Julieta’s (Emma Suárez, 2010’s THE MOSQUITO NET), eyes, which she at first keeps hidden under expensive sunglasses. This happens when she bumps into a younger girl on the street, who says she just saw Julieta’s daughter, long estranged from her mother. She rushes home and tells her lover, Lorenzo (Darío Grandinetti, who played Pope Francis in 2015’s FRANCIS: PRAY FOR ME), that she will not be moving to Portugal with him. She will instead stay in Madrid.
Details are loose as to why Julieta has not spoken to nor seen Antía (Priscilla Delgado and Sara Jiménez, at separate ages), but there seems to be a layer of guilt on the part of Julieta. She sits down with a notebook and begins writing, allowing for flashbacks. (At these points, Julieta is played by Adriana Ugarte, 2015’s PALMS TREES IN THE SNOW.) In her twenties, Julieta, spiky blonde hair and bright pink earrings, meets a fisherman on a train named Xoan (Daniel Grao, the Spanish TV series SIN IDENTIDAD). That he is not Lorenzo reveals at least part of Julieta’s past that factors so greatly into her present.
Issues of loss and even death are unavoidable in JULIETA, the twentieth film by Pedro Almodóvar, whose first film, PEPI, LUCI, BOM, came out in 1980. Even when they are not present on screen, the viewer is practically forced to keep them on hand because we know that at some point a gap formed between Julieta and Antía. Because of this, the viewer may feel bound and given no option except to wonder, What happened between the two? The film only gets so far before the gas starts to run out and we consider, Do we need to care as much as Almodóvar expects us to?
Almodóvar has brought to screen some memorable characters in his career, notably in films like 1988’s WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, 1999’s ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER and 2004’s BAD EDUCATION. Julieta, while marvelously played by both Suárez and Ugarte, falls short. Perhaps it’s because she didn’t come from the mind of Almodóvar–JULIETA is based on a selection of short stories by Alice Munro–or maybe there just isn’t enough to chew on, that she’s been simplified some, but the film suffers in our disinterest in her arc, much of which feels drowned by blunt recitation of the themes.
With JULIETA, the themes are clear and obvious, but little is done with them. Instead, the viewer may be more dazzled by the stunning colors and wonderful cinematography (by Jean-Claude Larrieu, in his first collaboration with the director), the presence of which should come as no surprise to anyone versed in Almodóvar’s filmography. There is style aplenty, but what substance is there, really?
JULIETA competed for the Palme d’Or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, Almodóvar’s fifth to do so, after ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, VOLVER, BROKEN EMBRACES and THE SKIN I LIVE IN.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: 1.85:1 in 1080p with MPEG-4 AVC codec. JULIETA looks wonderful in this high-definition transfer, with rich colors, fine details and an overall clean image throughout.
Audio: Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Subtitles in English and French. The Spanish dialogue comes through clearly, while the score and ambient noises prove effective.
Portrait of JULIETA (8:51): This featurette covers the themes, characters, actresses who play the title role and more.
Celebrating Director Pedro Almodóvar (8:15): Offered here is footage from a tribute to Almodóvar at the Museum of Modern Art.
Theatrical Trailer
