| Plot Synopsis Pedro Almodovar 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 Azorin) 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 transexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa Maria Sarda). 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 Pena). Displaying Almodovar'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, Almodovar would recieve the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Reviews Lucia Bozzola All Movie Guide Putting his distinctive spin on the women's picture, renowned Spanish director Pedro Almod�var affectionately salutes the female spirit and alternative families in All About My Mother. Combining serious melodrama with Almod�var's signature flair for splashy color and flamboyant, theatrical characters, Manuela's journey to Barcelona to find her dead son's father and assuage her grief balances humor, pathos, and profound insight into love of all kinds -- especially maternal. The unexpected fortitude and empathy she discovers, with the help of a transsexual, a stage diva, and a pregnant nun, turn All About My Mother into a joyful portrait of feminine complexity (complete with La Agrado's hilariously candid monologue about what it took to make her a "real" woman). Among the outstanding cast of actresses in a film dedicated to actresses, Cecilia Roth glows as Manuela, revealing the depths of pain in her face even as she carves out a new life. Marisa Paredes manages to be both imperious and touchingly vulnerable as theater star Huma. Hailed as Almod�var's most mature and heartfelt work, All About My Mother earned the Best Director prize at Cannes, numerous critics' awards, and a richly deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress 10/04/2006 It hasn't been very long since I reviewed All About My Mother (1999) for a special showing of the film, and the best I can do without repeating myself is to direct readers to the Xpress online movie review archives on the Web site. I will note, however, that I had not seen Almodovar's The Flower of My Secret (1995) at the time of that review, and it's worth pointing out that there's a fascinating connection between the two films -- which I won't spoil for anyone, because it's so essentially Almodovar to find this kind of playful link between films. I'll also add that plot-wise, All About My Mother may be his most outlandish work, yet it's one in which all the outrageousness is made to seem completely real because of the context. If this isn't his finest film to date, it's certainly in the top three. Original review from Mar, 15 2006 At one point in Ronald Neame's The Horse's Mouth, the outrageous artist Gulley Jimson (Alec Guinness) is giving painting lessons and advises one student, "Nothing niggling, mind you, I want to hear the paint going on." That's pretty much the way Pedro Almodovar makes films -- fully embracing his subjects fearlessly, slapping his vividly colored stories of larger-than-life characters on the screen with wild abandon. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his 1999 Oscar-winner (the Academy can't always be wrong) All About My Mother, an incredibly rich story that might best be described as an epic soap opera made by an artist. The story -- which manages to incorporate Joseph L. Mankiewicz' All About Eve and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire into its fabric -- is an over-the-top collection of outrageous characters in improbable circumstances that all manage to interconnect, forming a film of incredible power, humor and finally beauty. How outrageous is it? Well, there's a sudden death, a heart transplant, a woman who was married to a half-transsexual, a half-transsexual hooker with a heart of gold, a lesbian actress in love with her drug-addicted protege, a social worker nun pregnant with the child of a half-transsexual ... there's even something that might be a miracle. The amazing thing is that within the confines of Almodivar's film -- of his world -- all of this becomes wholly believable on its own terms. By the end, all of the characters seem painfully real -- and you realize you're in the presence of one of the great artists of film. Awards Best Foreign Language Film (win)- -1999 Academy Best Director (win)-Pedro Almod�var -1999 British Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film (win)- -1999 British Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay (nom)-Pedro Almod�var -1999 British Academy Awards Best Foreign Film (win)- -1999 Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director (win)-Pedro Almod�var -1999 Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film (win)- -1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress (win)-Cecilia Roth -1999 European Film Academy Best European Director- People's Choice Award (win)-Pedro Almod�var -1999 European Film Academy Best European Film (win)- -1999 European Film Academy Best Foreign Language Film (win)- -1999 French Academy of Cinema Best Foreign Language Film (win)- -1999 Golden Globe Best Foreign Film (nom)-Pedro Almod�var -1999 Independent Spirit Award Best Foreign Language Film (win)- -1999 L.A. Film Critics Association Best Foreign Film (win)- -1999 National Board of Review Best Foreign Film (win)- -1999 New York Film Critics Circle Best Actress - Runner-up (win)-Cecilia Roth -1999 Toronto Film Critics Association |
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| ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER 1999 - Spain / France - 99 min. - Feature, Color AKA - Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Original Foreign title) , Tout sur ma m�re (French title) Director - Pedro Almod�var |
| MPAA Rating - R Genre / Type - Comedy Drama, Ensemble Film, Reunion Films, Feminist Film Flags - Not For Children, Adult Situations, Substance Abuse (Alcohol Drugs), Sexual Situations, Profanity Keywords - death, disease, family, friendship, identity, mother, perseverance, sexuality, theater, unconventional Themes - Mothers and Sons, Haunted By the Past, Women's Friendship, Starting Over, Death of a Child Tones - Compassionate, Bittersweet, Witty, Warm, Bright, Urbane, Sentimental Moods - High on Emotion Set In - Barcelona, Spain, theater Cinematic Process - Panavision Sound by - Dolby Digital Produced by - Deseo / France 2 Cinema / Renn Productions / Via Digital Release - Nov 19, 1999 (USA) Released by - Sony Pictures Classics / Warner Sogefilms MPAA Reasons - for sexuality including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content Cast Cecilia Roth -- Manuela Marisa Paredes -- Huma Rojo Pen�lope Cruz -- Sister Rosa Candela Pe�a -- Nina Antonia San Juan -- La Agrado Eloy Azorin -- Esteban Rosa Mar�a Sard� -- Rosa's Mother Toni Canto -- Lola Fernando Fern�n G�mez -- Rosa's Father Cayetana Guillen Cuervo -- Manuela's boss Fernando Guill�n -- Doctor in "Streetcar Named Desire" |
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