Review of All About My Mother (1999) by Spangle — 29 Dec 2016

Largely disappointing. The first film I have seen by Pedro Almodovar, All About My Mother still has me excited to check out the rest of his filmography, but this one is definitely flawed. A melodrama that is certainly partially an homage to films such as A Streetcar Named Desire and All About Eve, All About My Mother is a moving, tragic, and heart wrenching experience. With themes of parenthood, death, AIDS, transsexuality, and faith, the film is an undeniably powerful experience. However, with a rushed ending and other moments of brevity throughout the film, All About My Mother loses some of its impact along the way.

Starring Cecilia Roth as Manuela, a grieving mother who recently lost her son, but has a mysterious past, the film explores her life after the death of her son. The film is an excellent exploration of her character and as she travels to find her son's transsexual father, Lola (Toni Canto). Never having told Lola she had a son (and named it Esteban, which was Lola's past name), Manuela travels to Barcelona, but meets a cast of characters along the way who alter her course. The purpose of the film may be to find Lola, but it spends far more time exploring Manuela's interactions with actress Huma (Marisa Paredes), transsexual prostitute Agrado (Antonia San Juan), and the HIV-positive and pregnant nun Rosa (Penelope Cruz). In the process, it explores the aforementioned themes and the stereotypes that perpetuate them.

Regarding AIDS and transsexuality, it is clear that there is an opposite reaction after the initial repulsion. People certainly look down upon both HIV-positive and transsexual people (even now) and All About My Mother captures this element. Yet, the film shows how people then have differing reactions to both. For those who are HIV-positive, such as Rosa, people are repulsed and want nothing to do with her. Her own mother, once Rosa gives birth, wants nothing to do with the child for fear that she will become HIV-positive as well. For transsexuals, they are still repulsed, but there is an inherent curiosity to this repulsion. Per Almodovar, people may not like transsexuals, but they find the blending of male and female private parts to be compelling and entirely erotic. The film shows how transsexuals must overcome these sexual advances to become what they really are: regular people who just happen to deviate from the norm.

The film blends these themes with themes of death and of faith. With Manuela's son dying and others dying from AIDS in the film, it is clear that death permeates the film. Through the melodrama, Almodovar wrings every possible ounce of tears out of the crowd, but he does lose some impact by skipping over death. He expects us to put it together, which we clearly can, but just hearing about it and seeing them die is entirely different. In this vein, the films brevity hurts it with these powerful moments losing all emotional impact due to his approach. With regards to faith, the power of God is ever present in this film. With His ability to heal highlighted toward the end, the film's thematic dealings with faith are clear through the presence of Rosa. A pregnant and HIV-positive nun, she is positively shown despite the juxtaposition. Selfless and willing to help people wherever needed, Rosa highlights the best of Christianity and, even if she has slipped into sin, there is forgiveness for her at the end of the day, even if her family is unwilling to accept her. For Almodovar, it is clear that faith is important in this film, but character triumphs all. Just because you are religious, it does not mean you are without sin, but your character means far more than any sins you may have committed.

A powerful melodrama, All About My Mother has a pretty poor ending where Almodovar just jumps ahead in time, losing all emotional impact, and just tells us what happened to characters. We see Manuela leave and come back after two years in five seconds, which is incredibly jarring. The film, in an attempt to cover its characters in greater depth without making the film longer, skims along at the end. For such a good film beforehand, it is disappointing to see Almodovar shorthand the ending and wind up crippling the final product. That said, the tremendous acting, writing, compelling themes, and unique colors and art direction, make the film a good one. I certainly hope my further exploration of Almodovar's filmography yields more enthusiastic results, however.