All About My Mother(1999)

Sony Pictures Classics

R
Rated R for sexuality including strong sexual dialogue, language and some drug content
1h 41m

Release Date: Nov 5, 1999

98%
93%
7.8

A comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, an overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.

Release Details

Original Release | Nov 5, 1999 | Limited

Viva Pedro! | Aug 11, 2006 | Limited

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Box Office Results

2026-10-26T11:28:18.674Z

All Releases (2)
Total US & Canada:
$8,344,738
Total International
$59,609,332
Total Worldwide:
$67,958,308

Total US & Canada:
$7,976,206
Total International
$59,600,000
Total Worldwide:
$67,576,206

Current Showtimes

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Location

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Director & Top Cast

Pedro Almodóvar
Director

Cecilia Roth
Manuela

Marisa Paredes
Huma Rojo

Candela Peña
Nina

Antonia San Juan
Agrado

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: Spain, France

Language: Spanish,Catalan

Summaries

Plot Summary

Manuela is a single mother of Madrid, who brings her only son Esteban to a Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire for his 17th birthday. After the play, they wait outside to get the autograph of one of the actresses. He doesnt receive it and proceeds to chase their taxi down and gets hit by a car and dies. Manuela decides to go to Barcelona to find Estebans father, a transvestite named Lola, who doesnt know that he is a father. She finds her old friend Agrado who is also a transvestite. Manuela needs a job so Agrado brings her to Rosa, a nun, who is three months pregnant with Lolas child, and contracted AIDS from Lola. Manuela goes to the same production of A Streetcar Named Desire and meets the actress her son was chasing after, Huma. Manuela helps take care of Rosa, and works for Huma. After Rosa has the baby, she dies from AIDS, and Lola comes back and is also dying from AIDS and meets his new son who Manuela names Esteban. Manuela heads back to Madrid the same way she did before, with a baby son.

Storyline

Argentine Manuela Echevarria, an organ transplant coordinator at a Madrid hospital, ran off from her husband in Barcelona eighteen years ago upon learning that she was pregnant. She has never told her son Esteban, an aspiring writer, about his father despite his curiosity. An event coinciding with Esteban turning seventeen leads to Manuela feeling the need to return to Barcelona to look for her husband. She ends up further acting as a maternal figure for people in need. One is a young nun named Sister Rosa, who she meets through her old friend, a transvestite prostitute who has assumed the name Agrado in her agreeable nature. Rosa has a strained relationship with her own conservative mother as she is consumed with caring for her ill husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's. The other is actress Huma Rojo, currently appearing as Blanche Dubois in a stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which has long been a touchstone for Manuela, productions of it coinciding with milestone moments in her life. Huma is in a troubled codependent relationship with her younger costar Nina Cruz, a closet junkie, hence Huma's need for emotional support. By the end of her stay in Barcelona, Manuela will have another non-relative for whom she will feel the need to act as a mother figure. — Huggo Manuela is a hard-working single mom who has raised her son Esteban by herself since the time he was born. On his 17th birthday they go to the theater and after the show, Esteban tries to get the main actress' autograph but is run down on the street and dies. Manuela is beside herself with grief and decides to return to Barcelona to tell the boy's transgender father Lola, about the death of the son he never knew he had. He is nowhere to be found but Manuela does find an old friend, Agrado and meets up with a pregnant nun, Rosa. Together they form a life and become fast friends - until tragedy strikes again. — garykmcd When a tragic incident shatters her world, Argentine nurse Manuela embarks on a journey back to Barcelona to find the father her son never knew. However, Manuela's quest soon brings her face to face with colourful characters, including streetwalkers, nuns, and a renowned silver-screen diva. But first, Manuela must confront her past mistakes and tie up loose ends. With emotional complexity and unexpected turns getting in the way, Manuela's mission delves into the depths of loss, love, and self-discovery. — Nick Riganas A single mother in Madrid sees her only son die on his 17th birthday as he runs to seek an actress's autograph. She goes to Barcelona to find the lad's father, a transgender woman named Lola who does not know she has a child. First she finds her friend, Agrado, a wild yet caring transgender woman; through her she meets Rosa, a young nun bound for El Salvador, but instead finds out she is pregnant by Lola. Manuela becomes the personal assistant of Huma Rojo, the actress her son admired, by helping Huma manage Nina, the co-star and Huma's lover. However, Agrado soon takes over when Manuela must care for Rosa's risky pregnancy. With echos of Lorca, "All About Eve," and " A Streetcar Named Desire," the mothers (and fathers and actors) live out grief, love, and friendship. — Anonymous

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