Julieta

Julieta, initially planning to move to Portugal with Lorenzo, runs into Beatriz on a Madrid street and learns Antía is living in Switzerland with three children. The news unsettles her and she abandons departure plans to stay near Antía. She rents an apartment in the same building where Antía was raised, hoping to keep a line of contact open.

Anticipating a future explanation to Antía, Julieta begins filling a journal with her life as mother, wife, and daughter. She uses it to frame the events that led to their separation and to bear the burden she keeps from her daughter. The act marks a turning point in her attempt to process her past before any direct contact.

In a flashback, Julieta meets Xoan on a train after fleeing from an older man. He speaks of his life as a fisherman and about his coma-bound wife, drawing her toward him. They become intimate on the train, and Julieta soon learns she is pregnant with his child.

Julieta and Xoan renew their relationship after the initial encounter. Despite his affairs with Ava, Julieta informs him that she is pregnant with his child. The relationship becomes central to Julieta's sense of identity and responsibility.

Two years after Antía's birth, Julieta and Antía visit Julieta's parents. Her mother is ill and seemingly suffering from Alzheimer's, initially not recognizing her daughter. Meanwhile, her father is having an affair with the maid, to Julieta's chagrin.

During a storm, Xoan's boat capsizes and he is killed. His body is recovered and cremated, and Julieta, along with Ava, casts his ashes out over the sea. In the same day, Julieta leaves Antía at summer camp so she won't be present for the cremation.

Julieta travels to Madrid to break the news of Xoan's death to Antía and to establish a separate life there. She rents a flat in Madrid and, for a long period, both mother and daughter live apart while still tied by memory. The move marks a shift toward a more fractured, independent existence.

At 18, Antía goes on a spiritual retreat in the Pyrenees and becomes incommunicado for three months. Julieta remains distant, left with only the journal and memories of what might have been. The retreat marks a rupture that drives Julieta to search for her daughter.

Three months after Antía begins the retreat, Julieta travels to the Pyrenees and learns that Antía has found enlightenment and wants no contact. Antía sends blank birthday cards for her 19th, 20th, and 21st birthdays, deepening Julieta's sense of loss. In a fit of rage, Julieta destroys most traces of Antía and moves to escape the memory.

Ava is dying from multiple sclerosis, and Julieta visits her in hospital. Ava reveals that Antía knew about the argument that precipitated Xoan's death and blamed Julieta and Ava. After Ava's funeral, Julieta meets Lorenzo, who has had an affair with Ava and written a book about Ava's art, and they begin a loving relationship.

Back in the present, Lorenzo has gone to Portugal, and Julieta's mental state deteriorates as she revisits places from her life with Antía. Beatriz unexpectedly recognizes her and reveals that she and Antía had a relationship, a fact that challenges Julieta's memory and beliefs about her daughter. The two realize Antía's retreat may have driven a wedge between them.

Julieta walks through the city in a dreamlike trance, and Lorenzo recognizes her on the street. As she steps toward him, she is hit by a car and rushed to hospital. The accident shakes her back toward life and opens the possibility of reconciliation.

In the hospital, Lorenzo reads an unread letter from Antía describing the death of her 9-year-old son, which finally helps Julieta understand how Antía felt when she left. The letter includes a return address, which Lorenzo interprets as an invitation to visit. Touched and hopeful, Julieta yearns to close the cycle between them.

Lorenzo and Julieta drive to Switzerland, where Julieta says she will not demand an explanation, only the chance to be with her daughter. The journey represents the culmination of Julieta's longing and the possibility of reconciliation with Antía.