‘Todo Sobre Mi Madre’ is another film directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The other’s ‘Hable Con Ella’, currently screening in local cinemas. Both films are very beautiful and profoundly touching. Almodóvar has a distinct style which is seen in both of his works. He is a master of subtlety and has the ability to weave the lives of seemingly unrelated women into the tapestry of life. Apart from that, it appears that he is fond of bringing in elements of theatre and drama into his films. Furthermore, the elements tie in very well with the main theme of the film.
The film is about a boy, Esteban, who grows up without knowing anything of this father. He constantly badgers his mother about the missing half in his life but never receives an answer from her. On his 17th birthday, while trying to get the autograph of his favorite actress, he is involved in a fatal car accident. His distraught mother, Manuela, discovers his notebook which contains the play that her son had written and dedicated to her – ‘All About My Mother’. The film then proceeds to unravel Manuela’s past, in an interesting way – by showing us the future.
Manuela travels to Barcelona in search of her ex-husband. She finds her old friend, a transvestite who decides to quit the streets and both decide to approach Sister Rosa for help in finding a new job. In an interesting twist of events, Manuela finds job as the personal assistant of Huma, the actress whose autograph Esteban wanted badly. Meanwhile, Rosa discovers that she is pregnant (courtesy of Lola… a transvestite who sought help at the shelter) and moves in with Manuela. She suffers a further blow when she discovers that she is HIV-positive, courtesy of Lola… again. Meanwhile, Manuela is all flustered and flying into rages and cursing Lola… (then I was too confused with who’s a woman and who used to be a man and later became a woman tt it wasn’t obvious to me that Lola is also the father of her Esteban!)
Eventually, mother and daughter (Rosa) reconcile with each other (over the fact that her daughter, a nun had gotten pregnant… and the father was MIA… and she was HIV-positive… I know, you must be wondering what kind of sad/sick film this is but trust me… it’s a great film!) Anyway, Rosa dies from complications during childbirth. Her son is also named Esteban and later, he is taken away from Barcelona by Manuela. In a way, the film shows that Manuela’s life has come full circle. Initially, she ran away from her husband with Esteban, now, she’s running away again, with the second child of her husband but she has learnt not to hide the truth from her godson, as she did with her own son.
At the funeral, Lola (Manuela’s ex and baby Esteban’s father), the eponymous ‘hero’ (or rather, heroine) appears and we finally get to see the ‘man’ who has led to so much suffering and sadness. However, I don’t really hate ‘him’, rather I think he’s really pitiful, just a pawn in this relentless game of life.
I feel that this film revolves around the lives of some desperate women who still cling on to a tiny bit of hope. Huma shows us the lonely and ‘boring’ life as a superstar, her good friend shows how drugs entrap and bring down a person; Manuela shows us the undying love of a mother for her son and the strength a woman has; Rosa on the other hand, shows us the beauty and peace when a person acknowledges and is unafraid of death. The transvestites and prostitutes shown in this film, exemplify the decadence of society and how cruel life can be to us all. However, ultimately, each of the characters cling onto the tiny bit of hope and eventually, some are rewarded by their patience. In this film, the baby Esteban represents the hope of something good amongst decayed moral values and prejudice against people who are ‘different’ ie. Prostitutes, transvestites…
