Todo sobre mi madre

Todo sobre mi madre is half way between a melodrama and a soap opera in which the most improbable characters perform and an equally unlikely plot unfolds: mothers who lose their sons, tragic deaths, pregnant nuns, transsexuals, lesbian actresses and heroin addicted lovers. As befits a melodrama, the film mainly concentrates on women and their problems. When Manuela sees how her teenage son Esteban is run over by a car she is overcome with sorrow, quits her job and leaves for Barcelona. There she goes looking for the father of Esteban, who knows nothing of his son’s existence. She wants him to read the last lines from Esteban’s diary, that are dedicated to him. Through her encounters with a variety of figures, Manuela finds out the value of friendship. Over-dramatised and brimming with emotions Todo sobre mi madre is in many respects a typical Almodóvar. Yet the change of tone he embarked on with his previous film Live Flesh is pursued here. While his characters were previously no more than comic charicatures, in Todo sobre mi madre they are more human and evoke real commitment. The film is tragic, but thanks to the comic dialogue and the excessive visual style that as always verge on the kitsch, it is never depressing. You could say that Almodovar has become milder – a course that certainly helps the profundity of his work.