My sister prompted me to check out several Pedro Almodóvar films a while back. I always had mixed feelings. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown struck me funny, but I've largely forgotten it. Mom agreed that Volver was only fitfully good. Talk to Her, while unique, vulgarly seems to disregard Almodóvar's usual knack for dealing with women. And I don't dare check out the NC-17 Bad Education.
All About My Mother is no exception. I can tell that skills went into the making, and the results elicit emotions effectively. It has plenty of female interaction. But not everyone wants to dwell on the subjects, including teen son death, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, nun pregnancy, and the social travails of transvestites.
The title itself is curious, and not just in the same way the protagonist thinks All About Eve sounds dull. The implied first person dies early in the story. He does not appear much in flashbacks, return as a ghost, or narrate from beyond the grave. His mother, Manuela, does keep telling people that she "has" a son, tho she'll soon elaborate that he's dead.
Manuela identifies strongly with Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, which turns up repeatedly, eventually allowing her to be an understudy. It's interesting to hear parts of the play performed in Spanish. Unfortunately, the parallels between their lives are not obvious, perhaps even more tenuous than between this movie and All About Eve.
I had a little trouble keeping characters straight (no pun intended) as I watched. No, they're not too similar; it's just that the plot kinda meanders. Only when the movie was almost over did I get a sense of Manuela's overall motivation -- her reason for being in the area in the first place.
If you do decide to rent the DVD, be warned: The subtitles aren't on by default.
No comments:
Post a Comment