Exploding off the screen in a blast of colour and compassion, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's Julieta is one of 2016's cinematic treasures.

Despite its shorter length, the film never feels unfulfilled or abbreviated. Its terrific performances, beautiful narrative, and haunting score... are so immersive that decades of life go by without it ever dragging.

Surez gives a searing performance in the lead role, her grief overwhelming her to the point where she physically wears it on her body.

Julieta is the latest film by the talented Pedro Almodóvar, which narrates one of the most primary bonds of humanity: the mother-child relationship (daughter in this case), thus marking the director's return to "mother melodrama"