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All About My Mother
1999
A birthday treat for single mother Manuela turns to disaster when her teenage son is killed in a car crash. Consumed by grief she goes to Barcelona to tell his father about the son he never knew he had, but he is a transvestite dying from an AIDS related illness... Spanish dialogue with English subtitles. Read more
| Starring | Penelope Cruz, Penelope Cruz, Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes |
|---|---|
| Director | Pedro Almodovar |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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All About My Mother
A birthday treat for single mother Manuela turns to disaster when her teenage son is killed in a car crash. Consumed by grief she goes to Barcelona to tell his father about the son he never knew he had, but he is a transvestite dying from an AIDS related illness... Spanish dialogue with English subtitles.
| Starring | Penelope Cruz, Penelope Cruz, Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Pena |
|---|---|
| Director | Pedro Almodovar |
| Studio | PATHE DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Feisty Females |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | Spanish |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 05 Aug 2004 Production year: 1999 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Mature and moving aren't words usually associated with “King of Kitsch” Pedro Almodóvar, but they certainly apply to this inspired reworking of the Bette Davis classic All about Eve. Devastated by the death of her son in a road accident, hospital worker Cecilia Roth donates his organs before leaving Madrid for Barcelona to carry out the boy's wish and tell his absent father of his existence. It is here that she finds a whole new purpose in tending to a pregnant HIV-positive nun (Penélope Cruz) and a grande dame of the stage nearing the end of her career (Marisa Paredes). With sassy humour coming from Antonia San Juan as a transvestite prostitute awaiting a sex change, this fond, deliciously flamboyant study of womanhood and friendship is intense without ever being overbearing, and touching but never sentimental. It's by far the Spanish director's finest achievement and earned him a best foreign language film Oscar plus two gongs at the Baftas.
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"...Emotionally satisfying and brilliantly played....[The film's] witty script focuses on the characters' stoic resilience and good humor..."
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Most helpful member's review
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38 out of 38 people found this review helpful
Foreign Film at its finest
I can't speak a word of Spanish, and usually hate subtitles, but All About My Mother has made me overcome my fears and watch other foreign films. Almodovar has made this such a watchable and enjoyable film. I would highly recommend it to everyone just so you can see how completely different it is to american blockbusters. It opens your eyes to just how bad most of them are! Rent it NOW!
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
subtitles
really captivating film. Don't be put off by the subtitles, they soon go unnoticed.foreign films can sometimes be all nuance and waiting ages for something abstract to happen and the subtitles somehow detatch you from really immersing yourself in the film-this was nothing like that. I wanted to see something by this much talked about director and selected it. However, having read the subject of the film I was having doubts thinking it would be intense and depressing- strangely, in spite of the raw and moving subjects, it turned out not to be. I would highly recommend it and am now keen to see more of his work.
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News and features
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All About My Mother competition
- 13 Aug 2007
WIN! An overnight stay to see All About my Mother on the stage! Lesley Manville and Diana Rigg lead a cast including Joanne Froggatt, and Mark Gatiss in the world premiere of Samuel Adamson's new play based on Pedro Almodóvar's Oscar-winning film, All About My Mother. It is the first time that Almodóvar has agreed to his work being produced in English for the theatre and nearly 20 years since he has permitted a major stage adaptation of his work. All About My Mother is a passionate hymn to the Read more
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