All about Pedro and Penelope

PENELOPE Cruz says she likes working with Pedro Almodovar (pictured) because when he’s directing, ‘he doesn’t spend 12 hours on his mobile’. When you work with Almodovar, ‘he’s very present’.

Parallel Mothers, opening in cinemas on January 28, is the pair’s seventh film together. Their first fling was nearly 25 years ago in Live Flesh — a part he wrote for her.

I reckon Parallel Mothers is their best film. Cruz read the screenplay, about a photographer who finds that motherhood can involve unexpected complications, and wasn’t certain if she should do it.

‘I realised that I was scared; and then I knew I had to do it,’ she said when I saw her fleetingly at the Venice Film Festival. ‘He calls me when he knows I’m right for something. I couldn’t say no.’

The movie’s breathtaking in its scope. There’s a parallel tale, about those seeking the final resting places of the disappeared: those murdered during the Spanish civil war in the 1930s. Almodovar said it’s a topic that he’s wanted to explore for years.

Milena Smit, Aitana SánchezGijón, Israel Elejade and Rossy de Palma co-star in the film that won Cruz the best actress trophy in Venice.

I’m shocked that she has not been included on the 15-strong BAFTA long list of leading actress hopefuls. Another very odd awards season!