Although Penelope Cruz has been a ubiquitous presence in film for the past two decades, the actress is definitely experiencing a great beginning to her 2022. In “The 355”, the actress can be seen onscreen alongside several other female luminaries. In this spy film, nothing is as it seems. However, Cruz’s character is definitely the one with the most to lose. Calling upon her significant talents, she is able to portray both the anxiety and the fearlessness of her character, Graciela. Alongside Jessica Chastain and several other well-known female movie stars, Cruz is able to hold her own — and then some. The action film takes its title from an actual spy — a woman who was referred to as 355 during the Revolutionary War. With Sebastian Stan as the villain, it is a crowd pleaser that will be popular with audiences looking to escape during the recent omicron surge in the United States.
For those looking for a bit more sophisticated fare starring Cruz,, there is a new Pedro Almodóvar film titled “Parallel Mothers”, in which Cruz stars as Janis, a woman in her 40s who is having a baby for the first time. What Janis doesn’t realize, however, is that the girl sharing her hospital room with her will end up having a profound effect upon her life. Delving deeply into the issues of the day — including Spanish history and politics — “Parallel Mothers” is a movie that draws upon an exceptionally intriguing plot and many charismatic actors.
At the heart of it all is Janis, a woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant but who is very excited to have a baby. Her lover, however, seems to have complicated feelings. A married man, he made Janis’s acquaintance when she shot his portrait for a magazine. Since he is an anthropologist, Janis asks him for help completing a special project that involves her family. This sets off a whole chain of events that no one in the film could have ever anticipated. Named after Janis Joplin by her young mother, Janis was left in the care of her grandmother when her mother overdosed. Growing up, she hears a lot about the family’s tragic past — and she becomes determined to make some of it right. For Cruz, this is an incredibly complicated role into which she infuses her incandescence and makes the whole film come alive.
