Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece that wont please the masses
Review: I recently saw this film with 3 friends and as usual they were shaking there heads in confusion and I was left in awwww of a modern classic . Cecila Roth once again gives another powerful performance ,my only complaint is I wish the wonderful goddess penelope cruz would be pickier about some of the movies she has done stateside
Rating: 
Summary: All About...what?
Review: This movie is not an excellent film, nor is it a film that addresses (let alone tackles) these philosophical questions that seem so apparent in the "estranged" communities in Spain or anywhere else. This film is especially not the artistic masterpiece that several other reviewers have claimed it to be. If you are overwhelmed by Cecilia Roth you should be--what a remarkable screen presence and natural talent the woman has!--but even she can't save this monstrously confusing, twisting idyll that is first about organ transplants and then actresses and then lesbians and then transvestites and then transvestites that were once straight men that are now drag queens with aids or something--I couldn't follow this movie! It's only a heartbreaker because I spent $... to rent it and then another $... in late fees. What was the connection to Stella?--that she married a drag queen? I don't know, and furthermore the lesbian characters need to subtly address the fact that they are lesbians--the plot was all jumbled for me because I had no idea who was a lesbian and who was not and whether she was a lesbian or whether she liked gay men--I DON'T know, it's all impossible! I know I will not get many helpful votes for this review, but atleast read it before you strike it down. Listen, all I'm trying to say is that this film, with its pretentiously artistic view of the sex slums and complicated plot design, is not a good representation towards any audience viewing it outside of the "community"--if you know what I mean? Things in the film industry, at least nowadays, have to be tasteful.
Rating:
Summary: Almodovar's Best
Review: Like all of Almodovar's movies this film offers beautiful colors and beautiful characters (have you noticed that even his ugly actors look beautiful in his films?). The music is part of the whole experience and even the credits seem to have dramatic presence. Dig that opening shot of the city of Barcelona while listening to Tajabone by Ismael Lo. Unlike Almodovar's older movies this one dares you to take it seriously on an emotional level and you find yourself doing just that even if the film contains characters fit for a Jerry Springer episode. According to this film we find ourselves involved in other people's lives simply because we care about them. In otherwords, you need not suffer alone. His characters would come off like a freak show in another director's hands but here they only come across as comical and endearing. This movie can be seen a tribute to those who believe in solidarity among sisterhood and all that is nuturing and feminine....in all its melodramatic glory.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking - a Spanish masterpiece about everything!
Review: An exploration of women and life as a whole, All About My Mother succeeds admirably in everything it tries to achieve. The drama is fascinating, displaying a real sense of emotion in the characters. There is some comic relief from very sad parts of the film that comes from the transsexual Agrada. The film also fulfils many other genres quietly - romance, adventure etc, and it makes all of them seem real. In fact, that is the word I would describe this movie the most with: real. The film is so fabulously right and I and many other viewers can relate to the characters and the situations, for some people it'd be like someone was following you around you're entire life and written a script just about you and it is, I repeat, real. The acting is brilliant, Cecelia Roth totally stealing the show as the mother of a dead son, Penelope Cruz giving great support in her best role as the HIV positive and pregnant sister Rosa. This is a film that you won't want to end, a simply magnificent movie that is not only one of the best films of 1999, but one of the best non-English films ever.
Rating: 
Summary: Very moving
Review: About 50 people told me I "must" see this movie, so of course I resisted! Finally, I got the video and watched it. Now I'm glad I watched it at home, because the emotional intensity of this film is overwhelming. I was in tears at many times. This movie took me back to a time in my life when I lost someone dear to me. I know that some people may be put off by how unconventional the characters are, but the expressions of love and loss, of hope and despair, are universal. Now the last thing you may expect from Almadovar is a movie about family, but this is it. It is about Manuela's love for her son, and then for the others who wander into her life and whom she takes in and cares for as family.
Rating:
Summary: Almadovar at his best
Review: Almadovar takes you to "his" world. It is a world where wonderful women, drag queens, policemen, etc live together in this wicked, funny, romantic, and sexy world. You can laugh and cry at the same time while watching his movies. I think this is his best movie. Almadovar matured and his style ripened. It is a must see....
Rating:
Summary: Sub-Almodovar is still good Almodovar
Review: Not as good as some other Almodovar films in my opinion but it has had wild success in N. America. It's certainly his most conventional film so far even though it is abound with the requisite transvestites and pregnant nuns. The obvious difference is that Almodovar pays tribute to women this time around whereas, in the past, he had fetishized them (which was something I, ever the sophisticate, didn't particularly mind). As per usual, Almodovar presents bizarre situations with bizarre characters and lets them play out in soap-opera-ish melodrama. It's kitschy and it's fun, as always.
Rating: 
Summary: Almodovar misses horribly with this one
Review: I really like Pedro Almodovar's films, "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down" is a rauchy hilarious film, and All About My Mother is he most popular film. So I should like it? No way! This film is full of stupid things that Almodovar seems to think are funny, but really aren't. The characters include pregnant transexual nuns and things that don't have any characterisation of motivation. It is poorly shot, poorly written, and even the presence of stunner Penelope Cruz can't save it. I'm glad Almodovar is getting widespread praise, but this was an awful movie.
Rating:
Summary: one of my favourite films
Review: Almodovar seems to get better with each film he makes, which is impressive because I also love his previous films. This one, about a mother who, after losing her son in a car accident, goes to look for his father (now a transsexual - one of the things I love about Almodovar films is the abundance of characters on the edge of society, but treated with all the respect they should have in real life ), is definitely one of my favourite films. It's a very moving film, without becoming a Hollywood tearjerker. Somehow you're much more involved with the characters than with other films, and Celia Roth is just wonderful. Although an emotional film, there a plenty of scenes that really make you laugh. Buy it, I can't imagine you would be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Almodovar plays his characters as a fine-tuned quartet
Review: What Director Pedro Almodovar is able to get out of his actors is nothing short of greatness. This movie is a real stunner and the subject matter is off the wall, and that is what make's Almodovar the great Spanish Director he is...The story moves from, Barcelona to Madrid and back again, then back to Madrid. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is raising her son Esteban, (Eloy Azorin), he is seventeen and they are celebrating his birthday by taking in a stage play, (Streetcar Named Desire) After the show Esteban asks his mother to wait outside with him to get Huma Rojo's autograph (Marisa Paredes) she plays Blanche and does a great performance. They are standing in the rain across the street and finally Huma and her friend come out. They are already in the back of the taxi when Esteban puts his face and notebook to the window, Huma looks puzzled and is not aware of what Estefan wants, she looks out the back window and Esteban starts running to catch up with the taxi, and car comes from the side street and hits Esteban. Thus starts the journey to Madrid to see if Manuela can find Esteban's father, who is a transvestite (Lola) and did not know Manuela was pregnant when she left him. Searching for Lola at a famous (on the outskirts of Madrid pickup place for sexual encounters) Manuela runs into an old friend, Agrado, (Antonia San Juan), who is a women playing a man who is playing a transvestite and she is fantastic. At one point Agrado does a scene on stage and wow's the audience with a rundown on how much money it has cost him to have implants, nose job, silicone injection's etc. it is quite funny. The story gets complicated about this time and Manuela decides to stay in Madrid, works for Huma backstage for awhile and takes care of Penelope Cruz, (Sister Rosa) Later all the pieces fit together and you are left with a feeling that you have seen one of the greatest film's of our time. There are those out there, who I'm sure, will be offended by some of the characters. But, if you can rise above your predisposed notions and do not mind reading caption's, then I say that you will be very entertained. I give this flick an a+...
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