All About My Mother (1999)

Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his father, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela.

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writer:

Pedro Almodóvar

Stars:

Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña

Won 1 Oscar. Another 56 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cecilia Roth	...	Manuela
Marisa Paredes	...	Huma Rojo
Candela Peña	...	Nina
Antonia San Juan	...	Agrado
Penélope Cruz	...	Hermana Rosa
Rosa Maria Sardà	...	Madre de Rosa (as Rosa María Sardá)
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Padre de Rosa
Toni Cantó	...	Lola
Eloy Azorín	...	Esteban
Carlos Lozano	...	Mario
Fernando Guillén	...	Doctor en 'Un tranvía llamado Deseo'
Manuel Morón	...	Doctor 1
José Luis Torrijo	...	Doctor 2
Juan José Otegui	...	Ginecólogo
Carmen Balagué

Storyline

Manuela is a hard-working single mom who has raised her son Esteban by herself since the time he was born. On his 17th birthday they go to the theater and after the show, Esteban tries to get the main actress' autograph but is run down on the street and dies. Manuela is beside herself with grief and decides to return to Barcelona to tell the boy's transgender father Lola, about the death of the son he never knew he had. He is nowhere to be found but Manuela does find an old friend, Agrado and meets up with a pregnant nun, Rosa. Together they form a life and become fast friends - until tragedy strikes again.

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Plot Keywords:

sex talk | friend | grief | birthday | actress | 

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Taglines:

Part of every woman is a mother/actress/saint/sinner. And part of every man is a woman. (English trailer)

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish Catalan

Release Date:

31 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

All About My Mother

Filming Locations:

Teatre Tívoli, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$89,515, 21 November 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,264,530, 9 July 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Deseo,Renn Productions,France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ranked number 32 non-English-speaking film in the critics' poll conducted by the BBC in 2018.

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Quotes

Manuela: Do you have any alcohol?
Agrado: No, I drank it all last night.
Manuela: I meant for disinfecting.

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Alternate Versions

Three minutes are cut from the US version. The total running time of the Spanish version is 104 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Skeppsholmen: Episode #2.11 (2003)

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Soundtracks

Gorrión
Written by Dino Saluzzi
Performed by Dino Saluzzi (bandoneon), Marc Johnson and José Saluzzi
Courtesy of ECM Records
(from "Cité de la musique" 1997)

User Reviews

Dignity

What a genius Almodovar is! Who else could take such esoteric material and make it not only enjoyable, but relatable. It takes a lot of chutzpah for a male director to swan dive into the gulf of womanhood (I can't believe I just wrote that) and emerge with such truth, HUMAN truth. While the characters of this film seem to represent certain female archetypes, they still flow organically through the ingenious plot. Almodovar shows us that any taboo subject can be tackled without it being exploited when it is done with a compassionate heart. The sheer WARMTH of this movie is what makes it a stunning success. The performances in this film are unforgettable. Cecilia Roth is so dazzling and real, and heartbreaking. But only a genius like Almodovar can break our hearts but still give us hope.