Todo sobre mi madre (1999)

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writer:

Pedro Almodóvar (writer)

Release Date:

16 April 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Part of every woman is a mother/actress/saint/sinner. And part of every man is a woman. (English trailer)

Plot:

Young Esteban want to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his father, carefully concealed by the mother Manuela.

Plot Keywords:

Transvestite | Actress | Personal Assistant | El Salvador | Single Mother

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 47 wins & 31 nominations

Cast

Cecilia Roth	...	Manuela
Marisa Paredes	...	Huma Rojo
Candela Peña	...	Nina
Antonia San Juan	...	Agrado
Penélope Cruz	...	Hermana Rosa
Rosa Maria Sardà	...	Madre de Rosa (as Rosa María Sardá)
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Padre de Rosa
Toni Cantó	...	Lola
Eloy Azorín	...	Esteban
Carlos Lozano	...	Mario
Fernando Guillén	...	Doctor en 'Un tranvía llamado Deseo'
Manuel Morón	...	Doctor 1
José Luis Torrijo	...	Doctor 2
Juan José Otegui	...	Ginecólogo
Carmen Balagué

Also Known As:

All About My Mother (Europe: English title) (UK) (USA)
Tout sur ma mère (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

Spanish | Catalan | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Italy:T | Spain:18 | Canada:14+ (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Company:

El Deseo S.A.

Trivia:

Manuela Coleman is a character from Pedro Almodóvar's earlier film, La flor de mi secreto (1995).

Quotes:

Manuela: Women will do anything to avoid being alone.
Sister María Rosa Sanz: Women are more tolerant, but that's good.

Movie Connections:

References All About Eve (1950)

Soundtrack:

Coral para mi pequeño y lejano pueblo

Todo sobre mi madre, all about you and me

What I like most about Almodovar's films, this one in particular, is the way he will grab you and pull you into a world you would not normally know and then, confront you with people's lives, emotions, relationships. Manuela, the mother who at the beginning seems so in control and clinical, earnest in her love and with the best intentions for her son, is shown to be much like you and me... full of doubts, questions, a need for answers and trying to understand how her life course has brought her to the present day and made her who she is. Barcelona in winter is richly filmed and serves as a backdrop for the renewing of old satisfying friendships and the budding of new ones, happening simultaneously and somewhat unexpectedly. It rings so true. The slow realisation that we are never really complete, that it's the people we love and live with, or avoid and later regret having done so, that makes us who we are. Almodovar sees the human condition and paints it carefully in this film.