All About My Mother (1999)

(Originally released as Todo Sobre Mi Madre)

Starring: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Peredes, Candela Pena, Antonia San Juan, Penelope Cruz, Rosa Maria Sarda

“When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely.” - Truman Capote

First The Lowdown: A woman returns to the life she fled after her son dies.

Manuela works as a transplant nurse at the local hospital. In the event of brain death, the doctors try to implore the next of kin to allow them to euthanize an otherwise irreversibly comatose person so that they may use the vital organs for transplants. Her teenage son, Esteban, is an avid writer who is fascinated by Manuela's life before she had him – especially since she never talks about his father.

On Esteban's birthday he insists on watching one of Manuela's seminars where she plays the role of an aggrieved family member who a doctor must try to convince her to give her consent so that they may euthanize a loved on and donate his organs. Later in the evening, Manuela annd Esteban watch Streetcar Named Desire. Estaban is enamored with Huma Rojo, the leading actress and insists on getting her autograph. Huma speeds away in a cab before he has the chance, however. Not to be outdone Esteban chases after it on foot and is hit by a car.

At the hospital Manuela finds herself on the receiving end of a speech she has witnessed many times.

Three weeks later, Manuela is still burdened by the loss of her son. She reads his diary obsessively and in an abortive attempt to be close to him, she tracks down the whereabouts of the recipient of Esteban's heart. Knowing that the temptation to look at her son's files will be too great, Manuela goes to Barcelona – where she last saw Esteban's father.

The first place she heads to is “The Field” - where the local whores ply their trade. There she finds Agrado – a transsexual she knew from ages past. While catching up on old news Manuela hears that Lola, a transvestite as well as mutual acquaintance and former roommate of Agrado, has recently left town – after stealing Agrado's money and valuables. Manuela has her own grudge against Lola, but she won't elaborate on it. Agrado allows her to stay and introduces her to Rosa, a nun who aids the prostitutes in the Field.

Rosa has problems of her own. As part of her work, she is supposed to provide assistance to the local whores, but found herself seduced by Lola – and is now carrying her child. In fear of having either her order or her parents from finding out, Rosa has volunteered to join a nunnery in El Salvador, replacing two nuns that had been murdered.

While waiting for Rosa, Manuela sees an advert for Huma Rojo's production of Streetcar which had just arrived in Barcelona. After watching yet another performance, Manuela approaches Huma in her dressing room. Huma's costar, Nina, has also been serving as her assistant – but Nina's addiction to heroin has made her unreliable. Huma is taken in by Manuela's matter of fact attitude and offers her a job replacing Nina as her assistant.

Much like Almodovar's other work, All About My Mother is heavily layered and seems to be multiple movies with similar characters. In this film he seems to borrow heavily from Tennessee Williams with constant references to both Streetcar Named Desire and All About Eve (Huma's has based her entire life in adulation of Bette Davis). In a Eve-like twist, Manuela replaces Nina's role during a performance. The thing that makes Almodovar so unique, however, is that he freely uses other source material here without plagiarizing it. The characters that stand out the most are the ones who defy conventions – Manuela's past, Agrado's gender change, Huma's immersion into Bette Davis. This is a not a family film, but rather a film about how families are put together in spite of their gender or lineage.

Line of the movie: “Lola is the worst of a man. And the worst of a woman.”

Five stars. Drink your Ovaltine.