ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER
SYNOPSIS:
Following the accidental death of her 17 year old son,
Esteban, hospital worker and single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth)
leaves Madrid for Barcelona, on a search for the man she left all
those years ago - Esteban, now called Lola (Toni Canto). Along
the way she encounters an old friend now known as the drag queen
'La Agrado' (Antonia San Juan), distinguished actress Huma Rojo
(Marisa Paredes), whom her son adored, Nina (Candela Pena), a
troubled drug addict who lives with Huma, and Hermana Rosa
(Penelope Cruz), a young nun pregnant to none other than Lola.
Manuela's journey is as much for her son's sake as her own -
indeed, entirely for his, fuelled by the boy's pain at never
having met his own father.
"Pedro Almodovar's career bears more than a passing
parallel to that of America's one-time 'Pope Of Trash' John
Waters. Both established cult reputations with films guaranteed
to offend just about everyone before moving into mainstream
acceptance. Both have retained loyal followings by refusing to
ever completely clean up their old act. And so it is with
Almodovar's All About My Mother, arguably his finest film since
'Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown'. This stirring
tribute to the female condition has all the classic Almodovar
trappings: drag queens, transsexuals, HIV-positive characters,
drug addicts and nuns but its sincerity and beautifully judged
emotional journey gives it deep poignancy. In Cecelia Roth he has
a heroine worthy of the title - an amazingly brave woman making
sense out of the present and gaining hope for the future by
confronting the past. In the course of the film she becomes
confidante, mother and sister to the women and men (who mostly
wear women's clothes) she meets. Alleviating the sometimes sombre
mood with hilarious girl-talk reminiscent of his best early work,
Almodovar proves again he's a man who
understands and treasures women. Overt script references to 'All
About Eve' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire' are not misplaced
because Almodovar presents a comparable collection of heroines in
one of his richest and most satisfying forays into women's
business."
Richard Kuipers
"All About My Mother is not about Pedro Almodovar's
mother, although in a sense it is, in that it is about all
mothers. And about woman - as mother, virgin, whore. Not
surprisingly, there is visual and dialogue reference to Joseph L.
Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). But in all her guises,
Almodovar seems to be saying, woman is not only more interesting/
complex/ unpredictable than man, but stronger and more
inspirational - heroic, if you like. But while the film is an ode
to woman: males are badly done by here - but there is
ambivalence, too, in young Esteban's plaintive view that with his
father missing, so is half his life. The film is not an essay,
though, but a gripping close up of a group of characters whose
lives are split open by the pen and the camera in Almodovar's
hands. It is Almodovar's most mature and reflective work, leaving
us with a strange, gentle sadness, despite its many wonderful,
amusing and amazing moments. Sensational performances provide the
fire power and the decorative filmmaking that characterises
Almodovar is taken to a satisfyingly complete conclusion,
marrying style with substance. Make a point of seeing this
film - whether on the big screen or on video."
Andrew L. Urban
"Pedro Almodovar certainly has a way with women. He can
put them in the most sexually, morally and emotionally
challenging positions, and he always manages to maintain their
dignity, their strength and their character. In All About My
Mother, he has presented the fascinating Manuela, who is running
towards her past and her future at the same time. Cecilia Roth
gives the role such honesty that, despite recognising that she is
going to be put through all kinds of torture, you know she is
going to come through. She compels the audience to stay with her.
Indeed all the women in this movie are compelling, in different
kinds of ways. And the men? Well, there are only really two
"normal" men - the virginal son, Esteban, who dies
early on, and Sister Rosa's demented father, who only wants to
know of a person how tall they are and how much they weigh. The
surprising thing is that when you strip away all the Almodovar
excess, the fake boobs and the drugs and the sex jokes, All About
My Mother is quite a classical tale based on real human emotion.
It's not a movie which could be made in Hollywood and it's not
necessarily a movie which Hollywood would understand. It is
altogether charming, positively confronting and a real
delight."
Anthony Mason
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VIDEO RELEASE: September 27, 2000
VIDEO DISTRIBUTOR: Becker Home Video
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW




CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 3
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed: 0
CAST: Cecilia Roth, Eloy Azorín, Marisa Paredes, Penélope
Cruz, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Rosa Maria Sardà, Toni
Cantó
DIRECTOR: Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCER: Agustín Almodóvar
SCRIPT: Pedro Almodóvar
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Affonso Beato
EDITOR: Pepe Salcedo
MUSIC: Alberto Iglesias
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Antxón Gómez
RUNNING TIME: 101min
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Dendy
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: March 2, 2000
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