‘Madre’ Review: A Tense Depiction of a Mother Undone

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/movies/madre-review-a-tense-depiction-of-a-mother-undone.html

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A parent’s worst nightmare, unfolding in real time, opens this Spanish drama. Elena (the superb Marta Nieto) gets a call from her young son, Iván. He’s vacationing in France with his father, from whom Elena is estranged. Iván’s dad went to their camper to fetch something, supposedly, and the 6-year-old boy is alone on a deserted beach. The bars on his cellphone are going down, he says. And so is the sun.

The motherly concern turning to terror is captured in a single shot lasting more than ten minutes. It’s a dizzying feat that “Madre,” directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and extended from his short that was nominated for an Oscar in 2019, never tries to top, although subsequent events certainly do not lack for tension.

Without further exposition, the movie moves ahead ten years. Elena now lives in the French beach town where Iván disappeared, and she works in a bar. One afternoon an attractive French teenager, Jean (Jules Porier), comes into the place. A series of close-ups tells us that Elena sees something unusual in him.

But this is not an unsolved-mystery-solved story. Jean, the teen, is not Elena’s missing son. She’s rational enough to understand that immediately. But she’s not rational enough to push back against his flirtations. Her attraction to him mixes uncomfortably with her concern over how he’s treated by his own family. In her confusion, Elena gives in to a number of lures of irresponsibility.

The result is an unusually compelling character study, one that, commendably, opts to end on a humane note rather than a dark judgment.

MadreNot rated. In Spanish and French, with subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes. In theaters, virtual cinemas and available to rent or buy on iTunes, Google Play and other streaming platforms. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.