All About My Mother

Theatrical Release Date: 1999 11 19 (USA)

UPC: 043396332232

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Pedro Almod?var directed this story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban (Eloy Azor?n), to adulthood on her own and has come to emotionally depend on him. One night, Manuela and Esteban take in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire; after the show, Esteban is struck and killed by a passing motorist as he dashes into the street to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband (and Esteban's father), who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Pen?lope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa Mar?a Sard?). While looking for work, Manuela becomes acquainted with Huma Rojo. Huma, on the other hand, has troubles of her own, most involving her drug-addicted significant other, Nina (Candela Pe?a). Displaying Almod?var's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama, Todo Sobre Mi Madre/All About My Mother received a highly anticipated theatrical run in Spain before winning the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival; in 2000, Almod?var would receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best European Film – European Film Academy Best Actress – European Film Academy Best Foreign Language Film – null Best Foreign Language Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Foreign Language Film – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best European Director- People's Choice Award – European Film Academy Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Original Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Language Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film – National Board of Review Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actress - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Foreign Film – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Foreign Film – New York Film Critics Circle Best Foreign Language Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

All About My Mother

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/03/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) Spanish

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- All About My Mother
1. Writing Muse [8:17]
2. Date Night at the Theater [7:52]
3. Following His Heart [8:13]
4. Unsettled Business [6:50]
5. Helping People [7:45]
6. Alarming News [6:55]
7. The Story of a Friend [5:33]
8. The Show Must Go On [7:38]
9. Girl Gossip [10:31]
10. Mother's Intuition [6:32]
11. Very Agreeable [16:51]
12. So Much Change [8:17]

Lucia Bozzola

Putting his distinctive spin on the women's picture, renowned Spanish director Pedro Almod?var affectionately salutes the female spirit and alternative families in All About My Mother. Combining serious melodrama with Almod?var's signature flair for splashy color and flamboyant, theatrical characters, Manuela's journey to Barcelona to find her dead son's father and assuage her grief balances humor, pathos, and profound insight into love of all kinds -- especially maternal. The unexpected fortitude and empathy she discovers, with the help of a transsexual, a stage diva, and a pregnant nun, turn All About My Mother into a joyful portrait of feminine complexity (complete with La Agrado's hilariously candid monologue about what it took to make her a "real" woman). Among the outstanding cast of actresses in a film dedicated to actresses, Cecilia Roth glows as Manuela, revealing the depths of pain in her face even as she carves out a new life. Marisa Paredes manages to be both imperious and touchingly vulnerable as theater star Huma. Hailed as Almod?var's most mature and heartfelt work, All About My Mother earned the Best Director prize at Cannes, numerous critics' awards, and a richly deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Cayetana Guillen Cuervo  Actor 
Fernando Fernán Gómez  Actor 
Fernando Guillén  Actor 
Carlos Lozano  Actor 
Agustín Almodóvar  Executive Producer 
Agustín Almodóvar  Producer 
Pedro Almodóvar  Director 
Pedro Almodóvar  Screenwriter 
Alberto Iglesias  Composer (Music Score) 
Cecilia Roth  Actor 
Marisa Paredes  Actor 
Penélope Cruz  Actor 
Candela Peña  Actor 
Antonia San Juan  Actor 
Eloy Azorín  Actor 
Rosa María Sardà  Actor 
Toni Canto  Actor 

Country: France,Spain