Today we talk a lot about the visibility of women at all levels, we have also begun to talk about the visibility of trans people, the new multicultural society in which we live, a world where ideas of race and gender fade and Labels disappear. This new reality is increasingly reflected in film screens and in the media. Without a doubt, one of the great pioneers of Spanish cinema in this field is Pedro Almodóvar, and we can see a reflection of this new reality in the film “All About My Mother”.
Almodóvar brings us some strange stories, but they are able to touch us; brings us totally marginal characters and assigns them an important role. He is fascinated by naturalism, capturing reality as it is in the most objective way possible; and this fascination, the struggle for women’s visibility, this wonderful film appears.
- Almodóvar mixes the traditional with the most revolutionary.
- And if we analyze its evolution.
- We think that it has been improving over time and that its films have gained more color: punk.
- Anti-clerical.
- Marginal characters.
- Women.
- Popular culture.
- Madrid buzz.
- Boleros and Black humor are just some of the characteristics of the Spanish director.
- “Everything about my mom?” combines comics with dramatic elements.
- But always trying to be natural.
- What’s the secret? A familiar and close language.
- Which portrays reality in the most faithful way possible.
Unlike in many films, in “Everything About My Mother” the drama is not the end, it is not the goal, but the beginning, the beginning of the plot. Despite the harshness of the drama, life goes on for everyone; it’s a constant struggle and we never know what we’ll find next.
“Everything about my mom? Is it a declared homage to? A tram named Desire?And ‘The wicked’, whose original English title, ‘All about Eve’, means ‘All about Eva’. Almodóvar absorbs his influences and expresses them in the entire plot of the film is intimately linked to the work “A tram called desire”: it rests on it, adapts and mixes with the work.
It is a film that dilutes the concept of gender, of women, that leads us to a different reality, but not far from our day to day; a colorful, close, bittersweet and direct reality. “Everything about my mom? It has become a true classic of Spanish cinema, a work of art that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
“A person is more authentic the more he looks like what he dreamed of to himself. “Everything about my mom?
Undoubtedly, the main protagonists of the feature film are women, few male characters appear and, as is customary in many Almodóvar films, the figure of the father is distant or non-existent, the film highlights mothers, women, whatever their origin and whatever their reality. Almodóvar expresses very well the different realities of women of this era, the characters are very well designed and, although they are caricatures, they reach their goal and show us an increasingly close diversity.
Manuela, Huma, Agrado and Irma Rosa are the main quartet of women in this story, very different women, full of powerful dialogues, with very prominent and differentiated personalities, but all women, Manuela is the central axis of the story. She is a woman who emigrated from Argentina to Spain and spent her first years in Barcelona with a man who would later change sex and be called Lola. The result of this relationship is your son Esteban.
Manuela fled to Madrid not to mention Esteban in Lola, and there began a new life as a nurse. On Stephen’s birthday, he accompanied him to see the play “A Tram called Desire,” which he loved very much. His son, trying to get an autograph from protagonist Huma Rojo, suffers a tragic accident and dies. From that moment on, Manuela’s life will be linked to Huma’s, and he will embark on a journey into his past, to Barcelona.
Manuela is a reflection of a mother, of her unconditional love for her children, and is a clear example of struggle and overcoming. On the other hand, Huma at first glance resembles a cold and distant woman, the actress whose fame went to mind. “However, she will establish a true friendship with Manuela and we will discover a sensitive woman who suffers and wants to feel loved. In addition, Huma has a relationship with her co-star Nina, a young drug addict with whom she will have her differences.
Arriving in Barcelona, Manuela will meet her old friend Agrado, a real woman, even if it is “silicone”. Can a person whose body is completely artificial be true?To like it shows us that authenticity goes beyond the physical, she is the woman she has always dreamed of being. She is transgender and one of the most interesting characters in the film. Agrado is a prostitute, but as the film progresses, we see an incredible evolution in the character, which introduces us to one of the most memorable monologues of “All About My Mother”.
Pleasure is transgression, it’s comics, authenticity. His language is vulgar and direct, full of terrifying naturalism. Like it is an example of this new idea of gender, of the lack of “tags” that we talked about at the beginning.
Finally, Sister Rosa is a young nun who wants to dedicate her life to helping others, is young, insecure, naive and believes in people’s kindness, belongs to a wealthy family and has a conflicted relationship with her mother. You will find in Manuela the maternal figure you were looking for. Rosa, like Manuela, has an affair with Lola and becomes pregnant, but unfortunately gets HIV.
Very different women, from different worlds, characters very close to marginality, but very natural, that’s all this film brings us.
“Everything about my mom?Does it break countless taboos: HIV, transsexuality, homosexuality, gender barriers, women’s empowerment, prostitution, immigration?In short, it is a film about people considered within the “marginal groups”, the eternal forgotten.
He approaches the other side of the coin, tells a story that may seem very unusual, but in a close way, arousing the viewer’s empathy for the women of the film. One of the most difficult problems is HIV, as it seems to continue. Generate panic in our society. An HIV-positive person must necessarily be a person linked to drugs or prostitution.
All about my mother? The character who has the disease is a woman, not just any woman, but a nun, a young Spanish woman from a good family who dedicates her life to others, the idea is to prove, in this way, that anyone can contract the disease. , that our origin will not deliver us or save us.
“Everything about my mom? It presents a story that purports to be fully inclusive. All these women represent a part of society, a way of coping with life, and they all deserve a tribute.
“I have always relied on the kindness of strangers. ” Everything about my mom?