When watching this movie, all the viewer is really doing is sitting in on the life of the 4 women of the same family that are central to this story. There is one other real character in this movie but she plays only a side role and is more of a plot device than anything else. The story, such as it is, plays out slowly, helped along by the hints, allegations, hear-say and secrets that are so associated with small village life, which the filmmaker is trying to pass comment on. One character is heard to say that they should "wash their dirty linen in private", which pretty much sums up the approach of exposition in the piece. Much of the rich, visual flair and imagination that we are used to seeing from Almodovar seems absent from this movie but some of the imagery is still present - Cruz washing a knife while we stare from above into her cleavage, the silence and incomprehension of men in the face of female struggle or female emergence. However, for the main part, men are absent from this movie as they are absent from the characters' lives. There are some good moments of comedic dialogues and some moments of passion and drama but overall for me, this was a mediocre offering from someone who can do much better. Wait for it on TV.
