All About My Mother

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Pedro Almodóvar directed this story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban (Eloy Azorín), to adulthood on her own and has come to emotionally depend on him. One night, Manuela and Esteban take in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire; after the show, Esteban is struck and killed by a passing motorist as he dashes into the street to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband (and Esteban's father), who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa María Sardà). While looking for work, Manuela becomes acquainted with Huma Rojo. Huma, on the other hand, has troubles of her own, most involving her drug-addicted significant other, Nina (Candela Peña). Displaying Almodóvar's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama, Todo Sobre Mi Madre/All About My Mother received a highly anticipated theatrical run in Spain before winning the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival; in 2000, Almodóvar would receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Subtitle: French, English

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)
•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1999
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1999

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)

• Chicago Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1999

• European Film Academy

•     Won Best Actress - 1999 (Cecilia Roth)
•     Won Best European Director- People's Choice Award - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)
•     Won Best European Film - 1999

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1999

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1999

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1999 (Pedro Almodóvar)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1999

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1999

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1999

• Toronto Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actress - Runner-up - 1999 (Cecilia Roth)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Cecilia Roth - Manuela
       Marisa Paredes - Huma Rojo
       Penélope Cruz - Sister Rosa
       Candela Peña - Nina
       Antonia San Juan - La Agrado
       Eloy Azorín - Esteban
       Rosa María Sardà - Rosa's Mother

• Director:

  Pedro Almodóvar

• Producer:

  Agustín Almodóvar

• Screenwriter:

  Pedro Almodóvar

• Cinematographer:

  Affonso Beato

• Composer (Music Score):

  Alberto Iglesias

• Editor:

  José Salcedo

• Art Director:

  Antxon Gomez

REVIEW:

• Putting his distinctive spin on the women's picture, renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar affectionately salutes the female spirit and alternative families in All About My Mother. Combining serious melodrama with Almodóvar's signature flair for splashy color and flamboyant, theatrical characters, Manuela's journey to Barcelona to find her dead son's father and assuage her grief balances humor, pathos, and profound insight into love of all kinds -- especially maternal. The unexpected fortitude and empathy she discovers, with the help of a transsexual, a stage diva, and a pregnant nun, turn All About My Mother into a joyful portrait of feminine complexity (complete with La Agrado's hilariously candid monologue about what it took to make her a "real" woman). Among the outstanding cast of actresses in a film dedicated to actresses, Cecilia Roth glows as Manuela, revealing the depths of pain in her face even as she carves out a new life. Marisa Paredes manages to be both imperious and touchingly vulnerable as theater star Huma. Hailed as Almodóvar's most mature and heartfelt work, All About My Mother earned the Best Director prize at Cannes, numerous critics' awards, and a richly deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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