- Widescreen
- Exclusive Interview with director Pedro Almodovar
- Subtitles in English and French
- Director's production notes
- Talent files
When her teenage son is run over and killed, Madrid nurse Cecilia Roth sets out to fulfill the boy's wish to find the father he never knew. Roth's quest to locate the father--now living as a transvestite prostitute in Barcelona--brings her into the lives of a variety of fellow "lost souls," from an old friend and transsexual hooker to a nun pregnant with the missing man's baby. Winner of the Best Foreign Film Academy Award, Pedro Almodovar's "screwball drama" paean to motherhood (in all forms) also stars Penelope Cruz, Antonia San Juan. 101 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English, French.In Spanish with English subtitles.After her son is killed in an accident, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) l! eaves Madrid for her old haunts in Barcelona. She reconnects with an old friend, a pre-op transsexual prostitute named La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who introduces her to Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a young nun who turns out to be pregnant. Meanwhile, Manuela becomes a personal assistant for Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), an actress currently playing Blanche DuBois in a production of
A Streetcar Named Desire.
All About My Mother traces the delicate web of friendship and loss that binds these women together. The movie is dedicated to the actresses of the world, so it's not surprising that all the performances are superb. Roth in particular anchors
All About My Mother with compassion and generosity. But fans of writer-director Pedro Almodóvar needn't fret--as always, Almodóvar's work undermines conventional notions of sexual identity and embraces all human possibilities with bright colors and melodramatic plotting. However,
All About My Mother approach! es its twists and turns with a broader emotional scope than mo! st of Al modóvar's work; even the more extravagant aspects of the story are presented quietly, to allow the sadness of life to be as present as the irrepressible vitality of the characters. Almodóvar embraces pettiness, jealousy, and grief as much as kindness, courage, and outrageousness, and the movie is the richer for it.
--Bret FetzerAfter her son is killed in an accident, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) leaves Madrid for her old haunts in Barcelona. She reconnects with an old friend, a pre-op transsexual prostitute named La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who introduces her to Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a young nun who turns out to be pregnant. Meanwhile, Manuela becomes a personal assistant for Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), an actress currently playing Blanche DuBois in a production of
A Streetcar Named Desire.
All About My Mother traces the delicate web of friendship and loss that binds these women together. The movie is dedicated to the actresses of the world, so it's not s! urprising that all the performances are superb. Roth in particular anchors
All About My Mother with compassion and generosity. But fans of writer-director Pedro Almodóvar needn't fret--as always, Almodóvar's work undermines conventional notions of sexual identity and embraces all human possibilities with bright colors and melodramatic plotting. However,
All About My Mother approaches its twists and turns with a broader emotional scope than most of Almodóvar's work; even the more extravagant aspects of the story are presented quietly, to allow the sadness of life to be as present as the irrepressible vitality of the characters. Almodóvar embraces pettiness, jealousy, and grief as much as kindness, courage, and outrageousness, and the movie is the richer for it.
--Bret Fetzer 
