All About My Mother
Academy Award × 1
Rent/Purchase
Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed films of 1999, All About My Mother was celebrated as a career peak for Almodóvar — critics marveled at how he sustains genuine emotional weight within operatic melodrama, handling transgender characters, grief, and coincidence-heavy plotting with a sincerity that defies easy categorization as camp or parody. The near-total critical consensus makes this a rare case where the numbers and the enthusiasm fully align.
“You don't know where to position yourself while you're watching a film like All About My Mother, and that's part of the appeal: Do you take it seriously, like the characters do, or do you notice the bright colors and flashy art decoration, the cheerful homages to Tennessee Williams and All About Eve, and see it as a parody?”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The tone of All About My Mother has the heart-on-the-sleeve emotions of soap opera, but it is completely sincere and by no means camp”
Bob Graham·San Francisco Chronicle
“it contains a host of superlative firsts: a handful of the only truly moving scenes he has filmed, the most gorgeous dialogue he has composed, his most dimensional performances of his most dimensional characters and perhaps his most dynamic photography and elaborate production design”
Wesley Morris·San Francisco Examiner
“The emotional tone is predominantly dark and confrontational . . . But thanks to a sweetly paced and genuinely witty script, pic doesn't become depressing as it focuses on the characters' stoic resilience and good humor”
Jonathan Holland·Variety
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorPedro Almodóvar
StarringCecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz
ComposerAlberto Iglesias
All About My Mother
Academy Award × 1
Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed films of 1999, All About My Mother was celebrated as a career peak for Almodóvar — critics marveled at how he sustains genuine emotional weight within operatic melodrama, handling transgender characters, grief, and coincidence-heavy plotting with a sincerity that defies easy categorization as camp or parody. The near-total critical consensus makes this a rare case where the numbers and the enthusiasm fully align.
“You don't know where to position yourself while you're watching a film like All About My Mother, and that's part of the appeal: Do you take it seriously, like the characters do, or do you notice the bright colors and flashy art decoration, the cheerful homages to Tennessee Williams and All About Eve, and see it as a parody?”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The tone of All About My Mother has the heart-on-the-sleeve emotions of soap opera, but it is completely sincere and by no means camp”
Bob Graham·San Francisco Chronicle
“it contains a host of superlative firsts: a handful of the only truly moving scenes he has filmed, the most gorgeous dialogue he has composed, his most dimensional performances of his most dimensional characters and perhaps his most dynamic photography and elaborate production design”
Wesley Morris·San Francisco Examiner
“The emotional tone is predominantly dark and confrontational . . . But thanks to a sweetly paced and genuinely witty script, pic doesn't become depressing as it focuses on the characters' stoic resilience and good humor”
Jonathan Holland·Variety
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorPedro Almodóvar
StarringCecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz
ComposerAlberto Iglesias
Rent/Purchase