All About My Mother (1999)
Synopsis
Pedro Almodóvar directed this story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban (Eloy Azorín), to adulthood on her own and has come to emotionally depend on him. One night, Manuela and Esteban take in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire; after the show, Esteban is struck and killed by a passing motorist as he dashes into the street to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband (and Esteban's father), who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa María Sardà). While looking for work, Manuela becomes acquainted with Huma Rojo. Huma, on the other hand, has troubles of her own, most involving her drug-addicted significant other, Nina (Candela Peña). Displaying Almodóvar's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama, Todo Sobre Mi Madre/All About My Mother received a highly anticipated theatrical run in Spain before winning the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival; in 2000, Almodóvar would receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
What Critics Say
The maturation of Spanish writer-director Pedro Almodóvar reaches a new zenith with "All About My Mother," which builds on themes prevalent in his earlier work. His new motion picture is a paean to women in all their glories, whether it is mother, whore, nun or actress.
In fact, Almodóvar has dedicated the picture to three great stars playing actresses on screen: Gena Rowlands in "Opening Night (1977)," Romy Schneider in L'Important c'est d'aimer/The Most Important Thing: Love (1975, French)" and Bette Davis in "All About Eve" (1950). "All About Eve" is referenced numerous times, most obviously in the title.
As in any of Almodóvar's films, the plot is complicated. Essentially, it is the story of Manuela (the luminous Cecilia Roth), a single mother who works in a hospital as a transplant coordinator. In celebration of the 17th birthday of her son, Estaban (Eloy Azorin), she takes him to see "A Streetcar Named Desire," and they wait to get the autograph of the star, Huma Rojo (the superb Marisa Paredes), but Estaban is killed in a freak accident as he chases after the stage diva.
A distraught Manuela eventually leaves her home in Madrid and travels to Barcelona in search of the boy's father, who is now a transsexual named Lola. Through a serendipitous series of events, Manuela is reunited with La Agrado (a fine Antonia San Juan), a transsexual prostitute trying to "go straight", meets an HIV-positive, pregnant nun (the sublime Penélope Cruz) and, in an echo of "All About Eve," becomes the assistant to Rojo.
And this is just the setup. So much is packed into the script, but it all unfolds at a brisk pace and in a relatively straightforward manner.
Almodóvar has crafted a superb, richly entertaining film, one that not only pays homage to great screen actresses of the past but also offers memorable roles for four fine female performers of the present.
*MPAA rating: R, for sexuality, including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content.
"All About My Mother"
Cecilia Roth: Manuela
Eloy Azorin: Esteban
Marisa Paredes: Huma Rojo
Penélope Cruz: Hermana Rosa
Candela Pena: Nina
An SPC presentation. Director Pedro Almodóvar. Writer Pedro Almodóvar. Producer Agustin Almodovar. Director of Photography Affonso Beato. Editor Jose Salcedo. Music Alberto Iglesias. Production Designer Antxón Gómez. Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Spill.com puts a whole new spin on the "classic" movie review; turning dorky and dry into hilarious and hip. Spill's reviews are high-quality animated videos featuring a regular cast of comic personalities.