All About My Mother
The
latest from famed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar is a sweeping mix of love,
loss, and redemption. When Manuela (Roth), a nurse in Madrid, loses her son
Esteban (Azarin) in a devastating accident following a performance of A Streetcar
Named Desire, she travels to Barcelona to inform the boy's father, now a transsexual
named Lola. Befriended in Barcelona by another transsexual named Algrado (Antonia
San Juan), Manuela is taken in by a group of prostitutes and meets Sister Rosa
(Cruz), a nun who ministers to the needy. Joined by members of the Streetcar
cast, Manuela, amid a hubbub of relationships, recriminations, and reunions,
begins to heal. (Synopsis by Moviefone.)
Distributor: Sony PicturesClassics
Cast: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Maredes, Penelope Cruz, Eloy, Azorin, Toni Canto, Candela , Antonia San Juan, Rosa Maria Sarda
Awards
Winner of the 1999 Britsh Independent Film Award for Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language. Best Director at the 1999 Cannes Filme Festival and nominated for the Golden Palm; winner of the European Film Award for Cecilia Rothe (best actress) , best film, and best director; winner of the National Board of Review for Best Foreign Language Film.
Reviews
Bickering Beck
"...nothing more than a well-acted soap opera."Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"The antic fizz and bold, theatrical exaggeration of [Almodovar's] earlier work have blossomed into a newly sophisticated style that is far more passionate, wise and deeply felt.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon Magazine
"Passionate and florid, Almodóvar's valentine to motherhood breathes with , chaotic Barcelona life.Indie Wire
"Spanish director Pedro Almodovar delivers once again with "All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)," a subtly powerful emotionally rewarding story of a woman who loses her teenage son and finds new life in the remnants of her past."
More
If Magazine's exclusive interview with Pedro Almodvar
"When I'm writing the script I don't visualize the faces of the actors. Sometimes I start with a face and sometimes I start with the sex or the age [but] I don't trust myself I can start with something and at the end I change it completely."Cruz, Penelope
This beautfil Spanish actress is making waves in the States, too.
