Julieta

Celebrated writer-director Pedro Almodóvar serves up an opulently crafted soap opera in this adaptation of several stories by Alice Munro, transferring the American setting to Spain. The title character (Emma Suárez) is initially introduced as a woman in late middle age about to leave Madrid and move to Portugal with her boyfriend. But her plan is derailed after a chance encounter with Bea, a young woman who was once her daughter Antía's best friend. Bea tells her that she has recently seen Antía, who went missing years earlier after a religious retreat. So Julieta decides to remain in the city in hopes of tracking Antía down, and she recalls, during a lengthy flashback (in which she is now played by Adriana Ugarte), her meeting with her daughter's fisherman father during an eventful train ride, their marriage after the death of his ill wife, his accidental drowning, and the circumstances of Antía's still-unexplained disappearance. The final act returns to the present and Julieta's search for closure. Almodóvar tells this tale with his customary visual flair, and the performances of Suárez and Ugarte mesh nicely, even if the actresses do not especially resemble one another. While not quite as distinctive as some of the director's earlier films, this one is still a satisfying addition to an impressive oeuvre. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the featurette “Celebrating Pedro Almodóvar” on the director (9 min.), and a “Portrait” behind-the-scenes segment (9 min.). Bottom line: a small extras package for this solid Spanish melodrama.] (F. Swietek)