A Review of “Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)”

The Spanish culture has actually been understood for its masculinity. Bullfighters, soccer gamers, and other manly figures are typically associated with the image of the Spanish culture. They had even presented the word "machismo" to the English language. One motion picture provides us a slice of the Spanish culture: "Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Everything About My Mother)", a movie written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The movie had gotten a broad reception both in Spain and other parts of the world.

The movie "Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Everything About My Mother)" speak about a problem that is really seldom related to the Spanish culture: Womanhood.

The story was essentially about Manuela's look for the daddy of her dead child, Esteban. Manuela did not inform her son anything about his real father, she only told her that he was currently dead long prior to he was born. Nevertheless, Esteban wanted to understand his father much better than her mother's one-sentence description.

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As the driving dispute of the story, Esteban passed away and his notebook revealed that he wanted to understand his daddy. It would be revealed that Esteban's real father was a prostitute transvestite with the name Lola. The search for the guy called Lola had actually set Manuela's life in a rollercoaster ride filled with unpredictable turns and loops. During the course of the search, Manuela meets vibrant people that would make her realize that life is still worth living.

Almodóvar's plot could be explained as unforeseeable, which provides the movie realism.

Disputes are introduced one after another, and at some points linked. The camera work was carried out with high regard to modern-day visual appeals.

The characters were wonderfully designed, some so realistic however a lot of are definitely peculiar. Manuela's look for Lola had actually led her back to the underground world of Barcelona, where transvestites were not an unusual. The underground version of Barcelona is certainly a visual treat to the audience to an unfamiliar yet vibrant world. There, Manuela meets old good friends, like Agrado, and some new ones. In addition, through those brand-new relationships, Manuela had in some way managed to recover a portion of the wound inflicted by the death of her son.

            The film’s highlighting of womanhood in the Spanish context is admirable. From the title alone, “All About My Mother”, the audience are immediately notified that this would be a story about a woman. Even the name of the protagonist Manuela, supposedly derived from a man’s name: Manuel, suggests that this film would talk about womanhood. But the most interesting aspect of the film is the inclusion of a transvestite. It would be helpful to reiterate that the Spanish culture takes pride on its oozing masculinity.

            However, womanhood was not entirely glorified by the film. It seems that the film had utilized a negative and rather offensive stereotype to women. In the initial part of the story, Manuela had told Esteban that his father had died long before he was born. It would not take long that the audience would discover that Manuela is telling a lie. There are other points within the narrative that a woman (and the woman-like) would tell lies. It seems that Almodóvar is arguing that Spanish women make lies, not because there is a lack of morals, but for the benefit of others, much like a white lie. Manuela did not inform Esteban about the unconventional truth about his father, supposedly to protect her son from the implications of having a transvestite for a father.

            Almodóvar’s casting of a woman protagonist and transsexual males could be interpreted as a social satire, but if we try to analyze the intention behind the film, we are likely to arrive at a positive note. “Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)” becomes a representative for the Spanish culture. Other cultures who would watch the film would realize that the Spanish community is not all about machismo. The film somewhat deconstructs the stereotyped image of the Spanish culture as being male-dominated. The film is seemingly arguing that the Spanish women are just as interesting as Spanish men.

            All in all, Almodóvar’s “Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)” shares the culture of the Spaniards in a new yet more vibrant light. The English subtitles are really helpful for those without a background on the Spanish language. However, the original language should be preserved for the audience to have a distinct Spanish experience.

Bibliography

ALMODÓVAR, P. (1999) “Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother)”