Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I probably got used to several plot twists in Almodovar movies, but this one do not have that much. If there were, my vote would be a little bit higher. I mean, in many aspects the movie is pretty brilliant. The acting is the highlight. Cecilia Roth, Antonia San Juan and Penelope Cruz shine bright through the story. Specially Cecilia, I'm really impressed.However, at the some point the story becomes evident. You see what is going to happen at each character. When I watched, I hoped for some twist, or something that would make my jaw drop. But eventually, that didn't happen. I don't know if I put lots of high expectation about this (maybe so), but the end could be better in my opinion. Still, it is a movie worth watching.

Young Esteban (Eloy Azurin) wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his father, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth). This is very visually striking film, with the bold use of primary colors (blues and reds) for scenery and often in the foreground. The cinematography in general is pretty decent, but it is evident that the director's real goal is to evoke emotion through color and patterns (the wallpaper in this film is outrageous).As a story, it is compelling and intriguing. To say there is one steady narrative is not strictly true. While it follows Manuela over a two month period, we are constantly being introduced to unlikely characters and see how they interact and their lives intertwine. Some twists are predictable, but many are not.The film has a way of making the taboo not so taboo. Prostitutes, transvestism, HIV, drug use and other topics come up and are discussed without seeming out of the ordinary or "wrong". But more interestingly, aside from a brief prostitution scene, the film is also very subtle -- there is little nudity and no drugs are ever on-screen.The parallels with "Streetcar Named Desire" and "All About Eve" are masterfully interwoven with the film. These two stories are both in the movie and alongside it. The character of Huma Rojo admires Bette Davis, and the film begins with a critique of "All About Eve" before Manuela begins living it. "Streetcar" is also a recurring theme... appearing as an actual play, but also more than this.Roger Ebert says the film is "sincere and heartfelt; though two of its characters are transvestite hookers, one is a pregnant nun and two more are battling lesbians, this is a film that paradoxically expresses family values." And he is right, echoing what I said above about none of this seeming "wrong"... it is just another family trying to live, albeit a family structure not normally recognized as "family".He further says, "Manuela is the heroine of the film and its center, but Agrado is the source of life." This is a difficult assessment to agree with or not. Manuela clearly is the heroine, but is Agrado the "source of life"? Or is s/he a tragic, yet comic figure? It is difficult to envy or admire her, though she has chosen this way of life on purpose: every inch of her body was an intentional act. She has followed her dreams, as misguided and foolhardy as we may think they are.I am not familiar with the director's other work, but giving this film an Oscar seems more than fair. It tells a story that is not strictly one of Spain but is far more universal. And while most of us do not have prostitution and heroin in our daily lives, we do understand the role of motherhood.

All About My Mother is a Spanish film that was written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar.It stars Cecilia Roth,Marisa Paredes,Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz and Candela Peña.The movie deals primarily with femininity together with complex issues like complex issues such as AIDS, transvestitism, faith, and existentialism.All About My Mother is story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban, 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, who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband, who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado, a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa, a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother. 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. All About My Mother displays Almodóvar's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama that mixes with themes and characters from Streetcar Named Desire And All About Eve.It was a wonderful and poignant story of love, loss and compassion centered on women.Also,it was also a intelligent sensibility with wicked sense of humor.The acting was also brilliant of all the cast involved.And most of all,the direction of Almodóvar makes this film a masterpiece Spanish cinema classic.

A film about transversites' is not my cup of tea, but what is engrossing is the acting that is riveting at times even without reading the subtitles. The central character, Lola, even though makes a late appearance like a mystery movie, makes the the story more poignant. It is Manuella (Cecilia Roth) who pulls the most heartstrings. The director who is well known in Spain and was instrumental in putting Penelope Cruz in the movies does a good job juggling the scenes between two cities and four or five characters. Cruz, as sister Rosa, is subtle and impressionable for a short role. The movie is gripping even with subtitles and certainly worth watching but I would not rate it as a Ten.