All About My Mother has won numerous awards to include the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. Based on the accolades, I was certain I would thoroughly enjoy this film. Although the film was artistic, engaging and brimming with imagery it was also larger than life and boisterous. What some viewers may have seen as brilliant acting, I viewed as Vaudeville. Cecilia Roth managed to make my ears bleed with her Hamish sobbing. I thought someone must have run over Charo's dog.
All About My Mother presents a touching, dramatic story that has strong real-life elements combined with some unlikely circumstances, but with interesting results. Manuela (Roth) has raised her son Esteban (Eloy Azorin) for eighteen years without revealing any details to him about his father. We learn that Manuela fled her husband (and Barcelona) to raise the child in Madrid. Her son questions the absence and identity of his father but is never given an answer. He is killed in a car accident on his birthday.
Esteban's death leads Manuela to seek out his father "Lola" (Toni Canto) in Barcelona. While searching for Lola, she is reunited with an old friend and co-worker named Agrado (Antonia San Juan). She is also introduced to an idealistic Nun named Rosa (Penelope Cruz) who just happens to have gotten pregnant from the same transvestite that fathered Manuela's own son. The last play that Manuela saw (on the night of her son's death) was Streetcar Named Desire and it just happens to have opened in Barcelona...following her to her new city. The coincidences are many. The topics cover a wide variety of sensitive issues ranging from AIDS to religion and from prostitution to redemption.
All About My Mother introduces us to a variety of unusual, unique and somewhat complex characters. The rich variety in the characters creates some interesting opportunities for the writing. The dialogue is sharp and original. The plot centers around Manuela's struggles and interactions, but contains sub-plots that include other small victories. The story does not have a typical happy ending, but instead leaves things open for discussion. It is not an ineffective approach, it is not an original approach, but it worked for this film. I am not sure what other direction it could have gone. Peter Almodovar did a good job creating a worthwhile screenplay.
The variety of characters in All About My Mother creates certain limitations for the cast. Because of the character types, which are vast, the casting reflected the quality of the film. Penelope Cruz would be good no matter how she is cast. I love her. San Juan did a remarkable job as a transvestite named Agrado, creating a character that was larger than life but measured and likable. We don't see much of Canto as Lola, but he was decent in his limited appearance. Marisa Paredes plays the diva Huma Rojo, who stars in Streetcar delivering a convincing performance. She reminded me of the main character from Sunset Boulevard. That leaves Manuela. I mostly enjoyed Roth's performance up until she had to show emotions, which happened quite a bit. Her over-the-top sobbing was like fingernails on chalkboard for me. It seemed completely put-on and unconvincing to me. Maybe I am being harsh, but that is the way I viewed it. Other than that factor, I enjoyed Roth's performance.
All About My Mother covers just about every questionable subject matter you could fit into one film. The topics include drug use, drinking, death, violence, AIDS, Alzheimer's, Transvestites, Transsexuals, prostitution, homosexuality, strong language and adult situations. A smidgen of everything. All of these topics were contextual and integral to the underlying theme of the film. I did not find any of the material objectionable, but would consider a pre-teen audience too young for this this film. The R Rating was well applied to this film. Run time is one hour, 41 minutes.
I hoped to enjoy All About My Mother more than I did. I hate when a film fails to measure up...and maybe my disappointment is reflected in my rating. Going in without any preconceived notions may have elevated this film or at least allowed me to give it the benefit of the doubt. Although the story was interesting it left me feeling unfulfilled. The characters and writing were strong, but some of the acting was excessive. I would still recommend this film but only mildly. It would be a good rainy day rental. 6/10.
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