JULIETA
MAST D: Pedro Almodóvar. Spain. 99 min. Sep 11, 6 pm, Elgin Sep 13, 12:15 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2. Rating: NNN
Almodóvar’s adaptation of Alice Munro’s meditation on personal loss stars Emma Suárez as a teacher who leaves her husband after a chance encounter on the street. Through flashbacks – Adriana Ugarte plays the younger Julieta – we learn of her previous life and why she’s been thrown into a deep depression.
Fans of Almodóvar’s gender-bending comedies will be disappointed – there’s only a flash of queerness. But the actors are wonderful, especially Suárez, who convincingly sinks into depression, and the film packs an emotional charge even if it ends too abruptly. And, deeply saturated with colour – typical of the auteur – it’s very beautiful.