Tudo Sobre a Minha Mãe (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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Certificate:

M/16

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish Catalan

Release Date:

22 October 1999 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Tudo Sobre a Minha Mãe

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

Huma Rojo: But can you act?
Manuela: I can lie very well, and I'm used to improvising.

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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 Um Filme Muito Espanhol (2009)

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Soundtracks

Coral para mi pequeño y lejano pueblo
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

Todo sobre mi madre, all about you and me

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, relationships. 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. 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. It rings so true. The slow realisation that we are never really complete, that it's the people we love and live with, or avoid and later regret having done so, that makes us who we are. Almodovar sees the human condition and paints it carefully in this film.