An emotional honesty pervades Almodóvar’s comedic melodramas. But whereas earlier works flirt garishly with kitsch and flamboyance, All About My Mother is a significantly more nuanced and controlled work. That’s not to say the award-winning director has dispensed with his camp, stylised approach.
With the tragic death of her son on his 17th birthday, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) leaves Madrid to find the boy’s father in her native Barcelona. She reunites with old friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), an outspoken transgender sex worker and finds work as a personal assistant to actress Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes). Manuela also befriends a young nun, Hermana (Penelope Cruz), who turns out to be pregnant by Lola, the transgender father of her own son.
A homage to women, female actresses (All About Eve and A Streetcar Named Desire are writ large throughout) and the Golden Age of Hollywood, All About My Mother is a gloriously complex yet heartwarming narrative as Manuela, by looking for Lola, is searching for closure.
Winner of the 2000 Oscar for best foreign language film.
Rating: 78%
Director: Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her, Volver)
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her, Volver)
Main cast: Cecilia Roth (Martin, Pain & Glory), Marisa Paredes (The Skin I Live In, The Devil’s Backbone), Penelope Cruz (Volver, Vanilla Sky)
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