Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)

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Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)

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Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About...

Antonia San Juan, Cecilia Roth, Eloy Azorin, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz

Manuela, a nurse and single mother in her late thirties must come to terms with the tragic loss of her only son, Esteban, when he is struck by a car. She never told Esteban who he was, "your father di...( read more  read more... )ed long before you were born" was all she ever told him. In memory of her son--who's his father's namesake--Manuela leaves Madrid and goes to Barcelona in search of Esteban's father. However, the man that she left behind, eighteen years ago when she was pregnant, is now a transvestite named Lola. The search for a man with that name cannot be simple. And indeed it isn't.

Id: 10899693

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Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother) Recent Reviews
  • her69eyes
    March 21, 2009
    her69eyes
    The great Pedro Almodóvar is known for his extremely feminine films, particularly ones that involve motherhood, sisterhood, and the like. "All About My Mother" is a perfect example. There are three "men" in the film - two dress and act like women, and the other dies early on. Ins...( read more)tead, the movie does indeed focus on motherhood, whether it be in a literal sense or in a sort of surrogate sense. While some of these characters aren't biologically connected, they certainly embrace and care for their friends just like a mother would.

    The film opens in Madrid, where we meet Manuela (Cecilia Roth), a single-mother who works at a hospital, and her son, Esteban (Eloy Azorin). The two have just seen a moving performance of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (featured heavily in the film), which was Esteban's birthday gift. After the show, Esteban urges his mother to wait outside for an autograph of his favorite actress, Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes). When Huma shows up, she immediately gets into her car and Esteban chases after her. Another car strikes Esteban, killing him.

    Shaken by the death of her son, Manuela chooses to go to Barcelona in order to inform Esteban's father of his son's death. In Barcelona, she meets an old friend: a transvestite prostitute known as Agrado (Antonia San Juan), which means "agreeable" (which is certainly ironic given her troubles). Together, they meet up with a nurse that works with the prostitutes, Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz), who is also searching for Manuela's husband, Lola, after he had impregnated her. Soon after that, we're formally introduced to Huma Rojo and her assistant, lover, and co-star, Nina (Candela Pena).

    The film is a bit of a struggle to keep up with at first because of the intricate relationships between each of the characters, and also the ambiguity of the story of Esteban's father, who we don't meet until the very end. Almodóvar's screens are typically crowded, and he's perhaps one of the only directors who can get away with it. We understand each character's drive and ambitions, as well as their history - it's truly a remarkable assemblage of three-dimensional characters. Not many others could pull off a story so rich with characterization without being convoluted.

    While Manuela is our protagonist and anchor point, it's Agrado that becomes the star of the film. Both the actress and her on-screen character are vibrant and full of energy. There's a scene where a play is canceled because of circumstances I will not reveal, and Agrado entertains the crowd with her own life story - telling everyone that thousands of dollars of plastic surgery has molded her into what she wants to be.

    "All About My Mother" is a strong film by Almodóvar, however it's nowhere near as memorable as "Talk to Her". The performances are lovely, and it manages to be strange yet rather endearing - almost bittersweet. I would give it a mild recommendation.
  • flixsterman
    February 22, 2009
    flixsterman
    A grieving single mom leaves Madrid to search for her late son's transvestite father.

    Fascinating blend of diverse dramatic elements into a cohesive and interesting story. An odd premise for a major motion picture but one that works perfectly.
  • 76Majikat
    October 24, 2008
    76Majikat
    Another ?plucked from nowhere? story from Almodovar. Although this is a well known title, I didn?t feel this was quite as good as the other couple I have seen so far, yet just as unpredictable and again we really get to know the characters well throughout the story.

    Another o...( read more)riginal piece.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    March 23, 2008
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Pedro Almodovar's masterpiece.

    *On my "best of the 1990s" list.
  • RCCLBC
    March 17, 2008
    RCCLBC
    A Greek tragody en Espanol.
    It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you want to call your Mom.
    The women in Almadovars films are always such a delight to watch.
  • gabrielhortencio
    January 3, 2010
    gabrielhortencio
    "Tudo Sobre Minha Măe", é um filme maravilhoso!
  • dizzynorman
    January 2, 2010
    dizzynorman
    I just popped my Almodovar cherry with this film. I dunno man, it just seemed to want to smash my face in with symbolism and feminism. Now I am a passionate feminist, but when the paragraphic ode to women closed the film, I really didn't buy it all that much. How was this movi...( read more)e an homage to women? Yes, it is filled with women (and MTF transsexuals) but that's not enough for me. The films real strengths were the inclusion of All About Eve and Streetcar and I found myself wanting to watch those films (which are more decisive, groundbreaking odes to women without a doubt) It was, however, very well done and it will not be keeping me from furthering my Almodovar experiment.
  • HuskersNC949597
    December 28, 2009
    HuskersNC949597
    Werewolf bar mitzvah, kooky, hairy. Boys becoming men, men becoming transvestite hookers.
  • mvieaddict
    November 26, 2009
    mvieaddict
    What was nice of this Almodovar's film Todo Sobre Mi Madre, was the way he grabbed you and pull you into a world you are not familiar with,and then, confront you with these people's lives, emotions, relationships.
    Manuela, the mother who at the beginning seemed so in control, si...( read more)ncere in her love and with the best intentions for her son, was shown to be full of doubts, questions, a need for answers and trying to understand how her life course has brought her to the present day and made her who she is.

    Barcelona was nicely filmed and serves as a backdrop for the renewing of old friendships and new ones. Mostly the people we love or live with, or avoid and later regret having done so, make us what we are today. Almodovar saw this human condition and paints it carefully in the film.
  • g0y
    November 12, 2009
    g0y
    Pretty much as eclectic as Almodovar can make it. Dense storyline with various memorable and rare characters. It homages a lot of American movies which I find stupid (A Streetcar Named Desire, for instance) but it has its own spirit, one which is heartbreaking, funny, disturbing ...( read more)and affecting.
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