Winner of the 1999 Cannes Best Director prize and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this affectionate drama of a mother’s compassion serves as Almodóvar’s tribute to his two greatest inspirations: women and film. The tragic death of her son impels Manuela (Cecilia Roth) to find her long-missing husband, a trek that leads her across Madrid and Barcelona, and into the path of several women and men in need of emotional rescue. References to such classic heroine-driven films as ALL ABOUT EVE, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, and OPENING NIGHT abound, but what shines above the cinephilia is Almodóvar’s love and respect for feminine resilience, strength and splendor.
“A whole new order of Almodóvar extravaganza…where womanhood, artifice, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and ALL ABOUT EVE collide, it weaves life and art into a rich tapestry of love, loss and compassion.” —Janet Maslin, New York Times
“ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER is one of the best films of the Spanish director, whose films present a Tennessee Williams sensibility in the visual style of a 1950s Universal-International tearjerker. Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone never seem very far offscreen.” —Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com
“Features several prominent trans characters and is very much focused on the idea of performing and inhabiting gender; its success was an early sign that films that explore gender identity could find a wide audience.” —Kate Knibbs, The Ringer
“Almodóvar’s trademark empathy is in full flower here…suggest[ing] that the best way to care for someone is simply to be there… Almodovar’s movies make small lives—all lives—matter.” —Josh Larsen, larsenonfilm.com
The Belcourt Theatre does not provide advisories about subject matter or potential triggering content, as sensitivities vary from person to person.
Beyond the synopses, trailers and review links on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb, as well as through general internet searches.