DVD Corner's blog

All About My Mother Criterion Blu-ray Review

“All About My Mother” is among director Pedro Almodóvar’s best.

After a nurse (Manuela) loses her son in a car accident, she travels to Barcelona to find her son’s father (a transgender woman named Lola). Her son never knew her father and her father never knew her son existed. While in Barcelona, Manuela reunites with an old friend (a transgender sex worker named Agrado), befriends a pregnant nun with HIV (Rosa), and winds up working for an actress (Huma) that her son was trying to get an autograph of when he died. 

21 years after its release, Spanish filmmaker/writer Pedro Almodóvar’s “All About My Mother” is still brimming with depth, humanity, and originality. Told with a vibrant visual style, the film is an emotional tale about friendships, lies, secrets, death, family, motherhood, women, and acting. There’s so much going on here both thematically and story wise and yet it never once feels overstuffed. It’s simply rich storytelling.

One could argue the story does suffer from being a bit too melodramatic at times and that the plot meanders a bit in the middle, but as the saying goes, it’s about the journey not the destination. 

The cast is excellent across the board. Cecilia Roth is the heart of the film as Manuela, Antonia San Juan steals the show as Agrado, Penelope Cruz gives a heartfelt performance as Rosa, and Marisa Paredes brings the character of Huma to life.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 1080p. How does it look? The colors are positively striking in this new 2K digitally restored print.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The 5.1 track does the job.Extras:
* A booklet with credits, photos, an essay by Emma Wilson, an interview between Frederic Strauss and Almodóvar and a letter by Almodóvar.
* “Once Upon A Time: All About My Mother”- A 2012 52 minute documentary that features cast and crew interviews, film clips, set footage, and more.
* “Informe Semanal: All About Almodóvar”- A 1999 TV program with Pedro Almodóvar and his mother Francisca venturing to their family home. Cast and crew interviews about “All About My Mother” are also included.
* “Version Espanola: All About My Mother”- A 48 minute 2019 Q&A with Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar and Marisa Paredes.

January 20, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | All About My Mother Criterion Blu-ray Review, Criterion Collection, Pedro Almodóvar, Penelope Cruz