Despite a friend of mine's overwhelming recommendation that I watch Volver, I chose Todo Sobre Mi Madre as my first Almodóvar film. Of all places, I had first read about it in my french textbook. The title and poster intrigued me, so I researched it thoroughly without reading any plot details outside of the outline. It looked good enough to merit the expense, but I didn't get my expectations up to anything beyond that. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The film exhibits a great set design, a solid script and performances that in any other hands might have fallen into caricature territory but here are portrayed in a very human light.
The film puts its focus on Manuela (a brilliant Cecilia Roth), a single mother working as a nurse in Madrid. She oversees donor organ transplants and lives with her seventeen year old son, Esteban (Eloy Azorin). Esteban wants to become a writer and is fascinated by his mother's past. He wants to know who his father is, but Manuela will have none of it. For his birthday, Manuela takes him to see a production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a play she starred in when she was younger. Afterwards, Esteban requests an autograph from one of the stars of the play. The actress exits the theater and gets on a cab, ignoring Esteban's request for an autograph. As he chases after the cab, he doesn't notice a car coming from a side street and he gets run over. Manuela is overcome with grief at the loss of her son and is forced to look for the boy's father, who apparently knows not of the existence of his son.
Here is where the real character development begins. Manuela finds her old friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual prostitute who also knew Esteban's father (Apparently a transvestite named Lola). Agrado could have been made a mere caricature, and at times walks a very fine line close to exactly that. But it is through Antonia's portrayal that the character truly becomes likeable, dynamic, and human. In a particularly interesting scene, Agrado informs the audience of a play that the two lead actresses are incapacitated by reasons beyond their control and that the performance will have to be cancelled. She does, however, offer a different show to those that wish to stay. Agrado begins to tell them about her life, about what her different body modifications cost and about how the more you resemble how you dream yourself to be, the more authentic you are. It's a relatively simple scene, but Antonia's performance here makes all the difference.
The other two rounding this ensemble are Penelope Cruz and Marisa Paredes as Sister Rosa and Huma Rojo, respectively. Cruz gives a very nice performance as a confused character who faces circumstances in her life that she didn't expect. She also has to deal with a judgeamental, bigoted mother who is constantly nagging her on her choices, including her decision to work with prostitutes and drug addicts in a shelter. Rosa is never a saint nor a doe-in-the-headlights. She makes wrong choices and she faces lots of tough facts. All of this confuses and scares her but she never once looks like a damsel in distress. Cruz convincingly conveys her being scared, yet determined to survive it all.
Marisa Paredes's Huma is a woman who owns the stage and truly lives for her acting career. She does, however, have one major cause of angst in her life. That would be Nina, her stage partner and lover, who is a drug addict and has the tempestuous moods to prove it. Huma shows the dynamic of their relationship whenever someone tells her Nina is hurt or sick by showing concern typically displayed by a mother. She wants to protect Nina, and this vulnerability is what makes Huma dear to us.
On a final note, let me just tell you about the lighting and sets. The sets are all colorful and the warm lighting only helps to bring this to our attention even more. It's a nice contrast to the seriousness of the issues the characters deal with. It also lends, at times, a sort of seedy underton to the proceedings, nicely complimented by a soundtrack featuring spanish guitars and a very spanish noir-ish feel to the whole thing. All in all, a solid script paired with powerful performances and a great direction make this a thoroughly enjoyable film. I highly recommend it as your first Almodóvar film.
I give it: ***
The film puts its focus on Manuela (a brilliant Cecilia Roth), a single mother working as a nurse in Madrid. She oversees donor organ transplants and lives with her seventeen year old son, Esteban (Eloy Azorin). Esteban wants to become a writer and is fascinated by his mother's past. He wants to know who his father is, but Manuela will have none of it. For his birthday, Manuela takes him to see a production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a play she starred in when she was younger. Afterwards, Esteban requests an autograph from one of the stars of the play. The actress exits the theater and gets on a cab, ignoring Esteban's request for an autograph. As he chases after the cab, he doesn't notice a car coming from a side street and he gets run over. Manuela is overcome with grief at the loss of her son and is forced to look for the boy's father, who apparently knows not of the existence of his son.
Here is where the real character development begins. Manuela finds her old friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual prostitute who also knew Esteban's father (Apparently a transvestite named Lola). Agrado could have been made a mere caricature, and at times walks a very fine line close to exactly that. But it is through Antonia's portrayal that the character truly becomes likeable, dynamic, and human. In a particularly interesting scene, Agrado informs the audience of a play that the two lead actresses are incapacitated by reasons beyond their control and that the performance will have to be cancelled. She does, however, offer a different show to those that wish to stay. Agrado begins to tell them about her life, about what her different body modifications cost and about how the more you resemble how you dream yourself to be, the more authentic you are. It's a relatively simple scene, but Antonia's performance here makes all the difference.
The other two rounding this ensemble are Penelope Cruz and Marisa Paredes as Sister Rosa and Huma Rojo, respectively. Cruz gives a very nice performance as a confused character who faces circumstances in her life that she didn't expect. She also has to deal with a judgeamental, bigoted mother who is constantly nagging her on her choices, including her decision to work with prostitutes and drug addicts in a shelter. Rosa is never a saint nor a doe-in-the-headlights. She makes wrong choices and she faces lots of tough facts. All of this confuses and scares her but she never once looks like a damsel in distress. Cruz convincingly conveys her being scared, yet determined to survive it all.
Marisa Paredes's Huma is a woman who owns the stage and truly lives for her acting career. She does, however, have one major cause of angst in her life. That would be Nina, her stage partner and lover, who is a drug addict and has the tempestuous moods to prove it. Huma shows the dynamic of their relationship whenever someone tells her Nina is hurt or sick by showing concern typically displayed by a mother. She wants to protect Nina, and this vulnerability is what makes Huma dear to us.
On a final note, let me just tell you about the lighting and sets. The sets are all colorful and the warm lighting only helps to bring this to our attention even more. It's a nice contrast to the seriousness of the issues the characters deal with. It also lends, at times, a sort of seedy underton to the proceedings, nicely complimented by a soundtrack featuring spanish guitars and a very spanish noir-ish feel to the whole thing. All in all, a solid script paired with powerful performances and a great direction make this a thoroughly enjoyable film. I highly recommend it as your first Almodóvar film.
I give it: ***
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