All About My Mother Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)December 11th, 1999
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
Spanish writer and director Pedro Almodóvar (WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN) loves to create movies featuring a cornucopia of colorful characters. In ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER he throws in everything but the kitchen sink. (Actually, for all we know, the sink may be there but dressed up as something else.)
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (TODO SOBRE MI MADRE) has everything from a pregnant, HIV-positive nun, Sister Rosa (Penélope Cruz), to a transsexual, Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who has a female top and a male bottom. There's also a lesbian actress, Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), with a drug addicted girlfriend, Nina (Candela Peña).
Soon after the movie opens, the story's protagonist, Manuela (Cecilia Roth), loses her teenaged son, Esteban (Eloy Azorín). As he chases after Huma and Nina's taxi, he is killed by another car.
Her son's death sets Manuela off on a journey to locate his father, with whom she lost contact after her son's birth. Given the rest of the plot, you probably will not be surprised to learn that her ex-husband is an ex-man, now woman, named Lola (Toni Cantó). It gets even more complicated and convoluted.
One's enjoyment of the story depends on whether all of this quirkiness is enough to sustain your interests. After a while, I just got tired of all of the overly cute twists and turns in the plot. Some of the acting is good, but that's about it.
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER runs 1:45. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. It is rated R for sexuality including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
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