Todo sobre mi madre / All About My Mother (1999) – 3/5

All about mediocrity mostly

„All About My Mother“ or „Todo sobre mi madre“ is a Spanish movie from 1999, but most people probably saw it during its wide release one year later. This was also when the awards recognition poured in. Actually, it is a co-production between Spain and France, but the former is absolutely dominant here in terms of who made this film, who starred in it and also where it is set. A lot of it is in Barcelona which made me curious because I traveled there not too long ago. But that is another story. It is not a long movie at all at minimally over 100 minutes, but that is alright. I am glad it did not run for any longer. The man in charge of all this was Pedro Almodóvar and he was already 50 when this came out and had worked on more than just a few films before and was thus also somewhat known. At least in Spain. But the fact that this film did not only won the foreign language category back then, but pretty much swept awards ceremonies all over the planet was extremely impressive and meant an international breakthrough for him. I have seen some of his films since then and enjoyed them. To be honest, I liked most of them (much) more than I liked this film here. I would not call him a personal favorite, but there is something about Almodóvar and his style that I really appreciate and this among other aspects mostly refers to colors he uses. Of the connection between the colors red and blue, but especially how he uses the color red in terms of sets, pictures, furniture even and clothes and just many other ways. Impossible to name every single one of them. But it is such a distinctive feature and it caught my eye right away in this film too. He did not only direct, but also wrote the film as he almost always does, so he was the man more in charge than anybody here.

About the cast I cannot say too much. The lead actress here is Cecilia Roth, who is from Argentina despite the name. This film is definitely her by far most known work to this day and the huge breakthrough for her did not follow. Maybe age was a bit of a problem as she was already in her early 40s here, which should not be a problem, but perhaps was. In any case, this was not at all the first time (or only time) she collaborated with Almodóvar and she also scored a great amount of awards recognition for her portrayal here. The actress from this fairly female-dominated cast that most will immediately recognize is of course Penélope Cruz. You can really call her Almodóvar’s muse or call him her mentor with all the other films for which they joined forces, many of them having Cruz as the lead actress. Here she was still in her early 20s and plays a bit of a tragic character, actually one of several tragic characters. Almost every character here is tragic in a way you could say. This also applies to the main character and what she goes through at the start, namely lose her son in a car accident. It was almost a bit ironic in a fairly sad fashion how there is talk about donating organs and very early on also this little informational video about how people think they are talking about the one they love getting organs from somebody else. This accident in a way could have been the core essence of the entire film, but Almodóvar chose a completely different direction and this fateful event was more of a beckground setting back then when the female protagonist goes to another city where she meets the boy’s father. And this meeting also could have been really at the center of it all, but it is not. Only takes place at the end then when she receives another sad message, but the center of the film is really all that happens in-between. The people she meets there (again) and the impact they have on her life and also the other way around.

I guess many people loved this film because of how it felt really progressive in terms of dealing with trans people. We have two key characters here who fall into that category. One we only see at the very end, but he is still vital in terms of the story. The other we see on many occasions throughout the film, but he is admittedly not that vital in terms of the plot. The film could have had the same story without him pretty much. What I liked was that they did not really have to send out any specific messages against hate or pro tolerance. These people were simply there living their lives and that is/was how it should be. No need to rub everything into everybody’s faces the way it is sadly done nowadays in 50% of the films dealing with similar subjects. Probably more. Or LBGT in general. Here it was done right. Still, I must say the film caused some problems for me in other areas. In the end, it was just too much plot-wise to feel realistic. Almodóvar put in so much here in slightly over 1.5 hours. The boy’s death early on. The father’s death at the very end. Cruz’s character’s death. The almost biological miracle how the baby recovered in the end. The way how early on one character is physically attacked (could have gotten killed without somebody else’s interference), but then still protects the attacker in a way. The way how two characters, a lesbian couple apparently, really violently attack each other. And so on. There are more examples. It simply did not feel too authentic anymore. Just too much. On a more positive note, what I personally found interesting here was the inclusion of „A Streetcar Named Desire“ on quite a few inclusions, even if you could surely make a point that how this play impacted the main character’s life on several occasions was a bit too much coincidence to still feel credible. But let’s be gentle, so they (i.e. Almodóvar) can get away with this too, even if it feels difficult. I do wanna watch the old black-and-white film now too that won everybody an Oscar except Brando. That one came out not too soon already after the base material got written. That is another story/film though.

So yeah, for me this film was closer to 2 stars out of 5 than to 4 stars out of 5. Much closer and with 3 out of 5 I am surely still very much on the generous side all in all I would say. The success with all these awards it won and again almost the same amount it was nominated for (a combined total of 100 approximately) really does surprise me and it is not possible for me to agree with that. Almodóvar surely had some strikes of genius during his career, but his 1999 film is not top-notch material. Still, there is a lot more from this movie you can discuss here, for example how he has no problem at all with including big jumps ahead in time on more than one occasion. You can surely call Almodóvar’s effort here unhinged and also bold in a way even if far from everything turned out right. Maybe that is what people loved about this film back then and still love about it today, even if obviously especially members of the LBGT community adore it nowadays because of how much ahead of its time it was in that department and also how Almodóvar made other films linked to these definitely important issues in the over 20 years since „Todo sobre mi madre“. But what else can you say about this movie here that has not been said? I guess not too much anymore. Favorite scenes everybody will have others I guess. There was not one or two that stayed absolutely in the mind for everybody I think. Maybe this is another aspect people like(d) about the film that most appreciated it from very different angles compared to what the people they watched it with saw in specific scenes. Other scenes. But for me the sour aftertaste stays with lack of realism on many occasions. Also another example would be that the mother, i.e. The protagonist, is ready to tell her son about his father’s real identity the very night when the boy is killed.

To end the review on a more positive note, I would say I kinda liked how Almodóvar included the existence and impact of HIV in this film in an utterly subtle, yet effective manner, especially in terms of the circles of society where it was a really, really big problem. More than anywhere else. I am glad I went to watch this movie, even if it did not have the very biggest impact on me in the end and I can only give it a cautiously positive recommendation. You should watch other releases from the filmmaker before this one for sure. Such as the magnificent „Broken Embraces“. I am still glad that „All About My Mother“ was shown at one of my local theaters and also that the (big) room was pretty packed, not sold out, not even close, but still fairly full and I think this is one of so many recent examples of how old(er) films really attract so much attention from movie-goers and should be shown on as many occasions as possible. That is all then. Oh and by the way, don’t think this is a film particularly suitable to watch on Mother’s Day because of the title or so. On the contrary, I would rather not call it a rewarding fit for this occasion. Still, go see „Todo sobre mi madre“. Once is enough.