| "...superfluous..." |
From here, Almodovar sends Manuela on a two trips, one to see the man who received her son's heart, and the other to Barcelona to find Esteban's father to tell him the sad news. The first trip is superfluous and impedes the progress of the film without allowing Manuela to fully express grief for her son. The second trip also takes Manuela further away from Esteban, even if its intention is to bring us to his father.
| "...improbable at best..." |
Amid the glorious architecture of Barcelona, Manuela manages to find a friend of Esteban's father, a transsexual named Agrada (Antonio San Juan) and a nun Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz), who is pregnant by Esteban's father. All of these meetings seem improbable at best since it's been eighteen years since Manuela was last in Barcelona. In addition, Manuela seeks out Huma Rojo, the actress inadvertently responsible for Esteban's death, and her drug-addicted lesbian lover.
Instead of some resolution of Manuela's grief, the pair provide Manuela with a job. The performances by all of the actresses are wonderful, especially Antonio San Juan, but the intentional melodrama stunts the storyline, making the film a series of anticlimactic reunions. Finally, the most inadequate of all the reunions is the one Manuela has with Esteban's father, an HIV-infected, drug-addicted transsexual. This scene makes you wonder how he/she could have ever managed to knock up both Manuela and Sister Rosa, even when he/she was in perfect health.
| "...a maudlin attempt of a portrayal of a grieving mother..." |
All About My Mother is a maudlin attempt of a portrayal of a grieving mother. It lacks the fast pacing of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and does not allow its main character, so wonderfully played by Cecilia Roth, any time for real grief, as did the wonderful beginning of the French film Ponette. The melodrama hinders the movement of the plot, leaving the film nothing more than a well-acted soap opera. In the end, I felt more of an emotional connection with the fantastic wallpaper and tasteful furnishings of Manuela's apartment than I did to her or any of the other characters.
Beck Finley is a freelance writer and critic. She lives on the Missouri side of Kansas City with her husband, Ryan Kegley, and dog, Tummy.
Links
All About My Mother
Reviews, awards, cast, and more. From the Now Playing Section.Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
IMDb page for the 1988 movie.Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down
Almodovar's 1990 film, courtesy of the IMDb.
