April’s Daughter

Seventeen-year-old Valeria lives with her older sister, Clara, in a lovely home in Puerto Vallarta that belongs to their mother, Abril. She no longer seems to have a presence in her daughters' lives, so Valeria does not want to tell her that she is expecting a baby. In the end, however, Clara, concerned about the situation, calls their mother. Abril arrives and smothers the girls with a colossal amount of support and tenderness. Her involvement, however, fairly quickly stops resembling typical maternal concern. Taking advantage of Emma Suárez's great intuition and talent, as seen in Julieta, Michel Franco has created a surprisingly nuanced portrait of the many different shades of motherhood. He takes the clichéd subject of toxic relationships between parents and children to a whole new, unexpected level. In his approach and understanding of intricate feminine relationships, he could compete with the master himself, Pedro Almodóvar. With April's Daughter,Franco proves that he is one of the most interesting young filmmakers in world cinema.