All About My Mother
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Movie Reviews of All About My Mother
Movie Review: All about Pedro
Summary: 5 Stars
Due to many years of Franco dictatorship, Spain missed most of the revolutionary youth culture of the 60's and 70's. Just like magic, Spain flourished after the tyrant died, however, there were many voices and issues kept underground after all those shocking years. All around the country artists chose to express themselves in a very unique fashion and while the 80's are generally regarded as a cheesy period by the English and the Americans, for the Spaniards, "la movida" meant that they were finally free to be the colorful and magnificent country that they have always been without any self imposed restrictions. Pedro Almodovar, tested their much cherished freedom of speech like no other, giving a voice to an underworld of travesties, gays and outcasts with much more intelligence and humor than say John Waters. Matador and the Law of Desire are easily two of funniest and more influential films of the 80's that stretched the standards of a narrow minded movie industry, not only Spain but all around the world. His early films don't offer any sings of formal training but the barroque-kitch imagery and his absurdist, witty and often obnoxious dialogues, could easily make you forget the amateurish shooting. The problem was that by "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" he seemed dry out of any new ideas, hence he spent most of the nineties filming mediocre stuff like Kika. Just when every one was writing him off, he filmed "Live flesh" which showed hints of a rebirth. He dropped the kitsch, he used a more logical plot and the characters were given room to say something by avoiding the cheap jokes of the previous shallow efforts. Still these were no sings that he would come with such a masterpiece as "All about my mother". Now a really accomplished director, Almodovar used again some of his surreal characters but this time he shows them with a warmer view, specially Cecilia Roth who displays so much compassion and love, that she immediately became one of my favorite characters in any movie ever. "All about my mother is about death, birth, love and loss, and everything is addressed in an optimistic way and with a charming sense of humor. Almodovar has always been good at creating drama by showing confused characters, but on all his previous efforts he buried them with surreal situations that distract the viewer form the real internal conflict. This time, Cecilila is surrounded by a travesty, a lesbian actress whose lover is a junkie and a former nun pregnant from a junkie travesty, yet the outcome is deadly touching and that is the magic of the film, that it combines early Almodovar wilderness with a strong narrative and great performances from all actors. The cast is great and they are given a wide space to shine. This time around the dialogues are very well chosen mixing the tragic and the comic with an ease that only "American Beauty" has matched in recent times. The whole cinematography is stunning, from costumes to tapestries, there is a strange mixing of colors and different angles that make the movie as delightful to eye as much as it is to the mind.It is great to see that after 20 years, Almodovar is still around actually getting better, I eagerly wait for his next step..
Movie Review: Mama Said There'd Be Gays Like This
Summary: 5 Stars
Pedro Almodovar's masterpiece, All About My Mother, avoids wide, well-lit boulevards, choosing instead to shed light on its large, complex subject by trolling life's darkest and most unsettling alleys. (Instead of June Cleaver you get Hermana Rosa, a knocked-up nun.) The film is brilliantly crafted, visually spellbinding, full of lovely literary and film allusions, funny, poignant, and heartbreakingly real. The irony here is that, by gleefully thrashing stereotypes and searching where nobody else would, Almodovar offers a portrait of motherhood so authentic it can even withstand crossing gender barriers.
Trouble begins early. The first of many mothers in the movie, Manuela - played with fierce conviction by the lovely Cecilia Roth - has an inappropriately close relationship with her teenage son Estaban. Their life together is complete, in its way, though fatherless. Estaban's death sets Manuela on a pilgrimage of sorts, from Madrid to Barcelona, to tell the boy's father what's happened. But this connection is only one of many, to people from her past, to a theater troupe, to another Estaban not yet born. Her fatalism, her sense of self-sacrifice, and her amazing endurance are uniquely maternal - one senses that Manuela would do whatever was required to discharge her obligations.
Manuela's time in Barcelona is an orgy or people, mothers of all descriptions. Almodovar mocks that most famous of all mothers, the Madonna, by casting Penelope Cruz as Hermana Rosa, a beautifully innocent, simple-minded nun dying of HIV-AIDS. Not exactly exemplary. Hermana's mom won't be getting many cards on Mother's Day either; she's too busy forging Cezannes to spend time with her daughter. Likewise, the theater troupe is not exactly overrun with familiar mom types. Marisa Peredes is amazing as Huma Rojo, the lesbian leading lady with a Bette Davis fixation. She's smitten with co-star Nina, a narcissistic nymphet junkie.
Fortunately, Manuela's old friend Agrado possesses many of the traditional maternal virtues; caring, compassion, and concern for the welfare of others. Problem is, Agrado is not a mother at all but a transgender male prostitute well on the way into womanhood. Oddly enough, this also describes Estaban's father, Lola. (Lola is clearly played by a man but the part of Agrado is inhabited by Antonia San Juan, a woman playing a man who is "playing at" being a woman - a dazzling performance.)
If all this sounds bizarre and confusing, it should. But Almodovar loves these characters and never uses them as stereotypes or punchlines. There's more to motherhood than bringing life into the world, and All About My Mother shows that what we think of as motherhood, that is, being the heart and soul of a family, comes in more forms than we are brave enough to imagine. You will not forget this movie.
Movie Review: Masterpiece, Almodovar's Best, A Foreign Treat!
Summary: 5 Stars
With this one Almodovar has proven himself to be the best and most original Spanish filmmaker since Buñuel. Almodovar has always impressed us with his boldly original films that possess a darkly comedic edge that have become his trademark. This is his best film yet, even though his 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' is also a masterpiece in it's own sense. More dramatically successful and less comic oriented than his past films, even though it still has its funny moments. The film is populated lesbians, prostitutes, transvestites and pregnant nuns, seems like something right out of a Fellini or Buñuel movie. The whole cast, dominated by women, is excellent, one of the best example of ensemble acting in recent foreign films. Cecilia Roth delivers a powerhouse performance as a loving mother who tragically looses her son in a senseless car accident (in a powerful and beautiful scene). This leads her to go back to Madrid to try to start a new life. There she meets Huma, an actress playing Blanche DuBois in a Spanish version of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and becomes her understudy. This portion of the plot is an ode to Mankiewicz's 'All About Eve', the film itself is dedicated to the actresses in general and Bette Davis in particular amongst other people. But fortunately Almodovar does not concentrate on that subplot but focuses on the big picture. Marisa Paredes shines as the aging actress. Penelope Cruz, who is only recently becoming a sensation in Hollywood, is heartbreaking as a nun who gets pregnant and unfortunately gets infected with AIDS. Antonia San Juan is very funny as Agrado, a sweet-natured transvestite who 'aims to please', she has some very funny lines and the scene where she gives her monologue is strangely moving. But still, Almodovar managed to keep a surrealist air in some of his scenes, for example, when Cecilia Roth first arrives in Madrid and is taken to where the prostitutes hang out. A beautiful dreamlike dance ensues with beautiful music and perfect rhythm. Near the end we meet the father of Cecilia Roth's dead son and the man who impregnated Penelope Cruz. We aren't surprised to see a man with a pair of breasts and we don't blame him for infecting her with AIDS. We see a confused pain-stricken man that went through a lot and now, as he is about to die, is willing to try and mend his mistakes. The scene in the restaurant where he is holding his newborn son and sees a picture of his dead son is powerfully moving. Almodovar could have easily ended the picture with an unsettling and sad ending but he went for the happy ending. This satisfying crowd-pleasing ending surprisingly doesn't seem artificial and actually works, leaving us feeling secure about these characters. A great film and a huge step for Spanish cinema. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 9!Movie Review: Almodovar sees the human condition and paints it carefully in this film.
Summary: 5 Stars
What I like most about Almodovar's films, this one in particular, is the way he will grab you and pull you into a world you would not normally know and then, confront you with people's lives, emotions, and relationships. Cecilia Roth (Manuela), the mother who at the beginning seems so in control and clinical, earnest in her love and with the best intentions for her son, is shown to be much like you and me... full of doubts, questions, a need for answers and trying to understand how her life course has brought her to the present day and made her who she is.
Cecilia Roth is an Almodovar favorite, and there's no mystery as to why this is the case. She can express tragedy, wisdom, and an appreciation of dark humor only with her eyes and facial positioning, and express all three vividly at the same time. Her voice also is as commanding of respect as it is sexy and fragile. The film is a deep drama, studying carefully the female universe with strength and realism, and also explaining the importance of a mother. All the main characters are very well developed and each of them has some importance in the plot. It's really amazing how Almod?var knows women so well, and how he loves and cares about them. His film is a very complex masterpiece, with some important messages and a wonderful story, and should be seen by everyone, even for those who don't like subtitles. The dialogues are fabulous!
Barcelona in winter is richly filmed and serves as a backdrop for the renewing of old satisfying friendships and the budding of new ones, happening simultaneously and somewhat unexpectedly. Almodovar eye for visual poems of incongruity reaches a new pinnacle in this masterpiece. First, there is the haunting by-play of darkness and light preceding Roth coming to the rescue of El Agreado. Much later, we are treated to the brightness of the upscale restaurant where Roth waits for her ex-husband Lola juxtaposed with a merciless exploration of the vast dark despair of Lola's eyes. Between these bookend-style frames, the profound dualities abound.
If you see one foreign language film per year, make this one your next.
Movie Review: Almodovar plays his characters as a fine-tuned quartet
Summary: 5 Stars
What Director Pedro Almodovar is able to get out of his actors is nothing short of greatness. This movie is a real stunner and the subject matter is off the wall, and that is what make's Almodovar the great Spanish Director he is...The story moves from, Barcelona to Madrid and back again, then back to Madrid.Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is raising her son Esteban, (Eloy Azorin), he is seventeen and they are celebrating his birthday by taking in a stage play, (Streetcar Named Desire) After the show Esteban asks his mother to wait outside with him to get Huma Rojo's autograph (Marisa Paredes) she plays Blanche and does a great performance. They are standing in the rain across the street and finally Huma and her friend come out. They are already in the back of the taxi when Esteban puts his face and notebook to the window, Huma looks puzzled and is not aware of what Estefan wants, she looks out the back window and Esteban starts running to catch up with the taxi, and car comes from the side street and hits Esteban.
Thus starts the journey to Madrid to see if Manuela can find Esteban's father, who is a transvestite (Lola) and did not know Manuela was pregnant when she left him. Searching for Lola at a famous (on the outskirts of Madrid pickup place for sexual encounters) Manuela runs into an old friend, Agrado, (Antonia San Juan), who is a women playing a man who is playing a transvestite and she is fantastic. At one point Agrado does a scene on stage and wow's the audience with a rundown on how much money it has cost him to have implants, nose job, silicone injection's etc. it is quite funny.
The story gets complicated about this time and Manuela decides to stay in Madrid, works for Huma backstage for awhile and takes care of Penelope Cruz, (Sister Rosa)
Later all the pieces fit together and you are left with a feeling that you have seen one of the greatest film's of our time. There are those out there, who I'm sure, will be offended by some of the characters. But, if you can rise above your predisposed notions and do not mind reading caption's, then I say that you will be very entertained. I give this flick an a+...