All About My Mother Movie Review 1999

Manuela (Roth) is a single mom, emotionally dependent on her 17-year-old son, Esteban (Azorin). After seeing him killed in a car accident, the grief-stricken mom seeks to find Esteban's father--now a transvestite named Lola (Canto)--and meets an old friend, tranvestite prostitute Agrado (San Juan), who offers comfort. Adding to the female roundelay are Huma Rojo (Paredes), Esteban's favorite actress, and Sister Rosa (Cruz), a pregnant nun who runs a shelter. As Manuela encounters each of them, they help give her a renewed sense of hope and the strength to carry on. Spanish with subtitles.

Distribution

Sony Pictures Home Video, Sony Pictures Plz., 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232, Phone: (310)244-7306, Fax: (310)280-2485, URL: http://www.spe.sony.com, Remarks: Formerly Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 102 minutes.
Originally from Spanish.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Tearjerkers, Moms, Death & the Afterlife, Pregnant Pauses, Nuns & Priests, AIDS, Gender Bending, Single Parents, Madrid

Screenplay

Pedro Almodovar

Cast

Cecilia (Celia) Roth, Penelope Cruz, Marisa Paredes, Eloy Azorin, Toni Canto, Antonia San Juan, Candela Pena

Cinematography

Alfonso Beato

Director

Pedro Almodovar

Music

Alberto Iglesias

Producer

Sony Pictures Classics

Awards

Oscars 1999: Foreign Film; British Acad. 1999: Director (Almodovar), Foreign Film; Cannes 1999: Director (Almodovar); Cesar 2000: Foreign Film; Golden Globes 2000: Foreign Film; L.A. Film Critics 1999: Foreign Film; N.Y. Film Critics 1999: Foreign Film; Broadcast Film Critics 1999: Foreign Film.