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Starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Antonia San Juan, Penelope Cruz, Eloy Azorin, Toni Canto,
Candela Pena. Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar.
Manuela (Roth) is a nurse in Madrid, who makes videos helping to promote organ donation for those who have died. She's a single mom with a 17-year-old son Esteban (Azorin), an aspiring writer who means the world to her. He feels likewise, beginning to write a story "All About My Mother". On his birthday, she takes him to see the play A Streetcar Named Desire playing across from their apartment. Esteban insists they stay outside to get an autograph of the star actress Huma (Paredes), but she quickly gets into a cab. He starts running after the cab, but is run down by another car and dies. Inconsolable, Manuela quits nursing, and takes off for Barcelona to try and find Esteban's father Lola. That's right Lola, L O L A, Lola, a she-male hooker who she ran away from just before Esteban was born. And Esteban never knew who his father was. Ironically she had reluctantly agreed to tell Esteban about his father the night he died, but was unable to do it in time. Arriving in Barcelona, Manuela meets up with an old she-male friend of Lola's named Agrado (San Juan). She's still hooking, and according to her male clients, she's living up to her name "agreeable". Unfortunately, Lola took off a few months before for Argentina. Manuela settles in, and with Agrado meets a very pretty nun Sister Rosa (Cruz), who has been encouraging Agrado to get off the streets. She's supposed to be going to replace some killed nuns in El Salvador, but changes her plans - she finds out she's pregnant, and it's Lola's baby. Huma's acting troupe has landed in Barcelona. Manuela, hoping to meet with Huma, keeps going to the play until Manuela has a chance to go backstage to meet her. Huma is so impressed with her, she hires her as an assistant. Manuela's life takes several unexpected but often delightful turns. Almodovar is famous for his creation of films exploring the lives of women. Fresh off winning the best director prize at Cannes, All About My Mother is full of women - mothers, daughters, nuns, hookers, actresses, she-males. It is ostensibly a soap opera, with several weepie moments, but that description does not do justice to the masterfully woven story and excellent performances. The film centers on tolerance. Although there are many marginal, imperfect and unusual characters, each is treated sympathetically and non-judgementally. Although there are rivalries and conflicts, the relationships are heartfelt and joyful, despite the tragedies that are dispersed throughout. A constant theme of the film is betrayal. At the beginning of the film, Manuela and Esteban watch on television All About Eve together, with it's theme of the young Eve coyly planning to replace Bette Davis on the New York stage while pretending to be just a starstruck fan. Manuela similarly takes over for Nina in a performance, although her motive is simply to have a chance to recreate her past when she and her ex-husband starred as Stella and Stanley some twenty years before. And interestingly, Huma started smoking as a teenager trying to emulate Bette Davis. The film contains a large number of similar complexities that make rich and interesting characters. While Aldomovar is famous for creating "crazy women" characters, and using bright, gaudy colours, All About My Mother is appropriately more low key, centering on the loving and generous Manuela who offers kindness to friends and strangers she meets. Roth is outstanding as the tolerant and giving Manuela, who would do anything for her son, including finding her estranged husband who she ran away from after his "change" to a woman. San Juan is sensational. Funny and often moving, she's the good-hearted friend who accepts Manuela back even as she took off without a word years before. The rest of the cast, especially Paredes and the lovely Cruz, are also quite good. All About My Motheris an offbeat, often moving drama with varied and interesting characters, and is well worth seeing as an alternative to the standard Hollywood fare.   
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