Overview
A poignant exploration of motherhood and identity unfolds in the vibrant streets of Barcelona.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- witty
- sincere
- reflective evening
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Pedro Almodóvar's vibrant, emotionally sincere melodrama as a compassionate and formally distinctive high point, praising its dimensional characters despite its conspicuous coincidences and theatrical excess.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Manuela repeatedly becomes a maternal support for Rosa, Agrado, Huma, and others who need care.
The film embraces soap-opera intensity and coincidence while treating its characters' pain with sympathy rather than ridicule.
A Streetcar Named Desire and All About Eve frame Manuela's memories and the relationships surrounding Huma's stage production.
Agrado and Manuela's transgender husband are integrated into the film's intimate social world rather than treated as spectacles or punchlines.
Films like All About My Mother, and why
All About Eve
shared theatrical melodrama, female-centered relationships, camp-inflected humor, and affectionate intertextuality
A Streetcar Named Desire
shared emotionally intense melodrama, stage-world themes, and direct engagement with Tennessee Williams
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
shared vibrant visual style, queer themes, heightened comedy-drama, and compassionate outsiders
Volver
shared maternal grief, unconventional family bonds, and emotionally expansive international melodrama
Movie Details
- Director
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Release Date
- 1999-04-16
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (2117)
Cast
- Cecilia Roth
- Marisa Paredes
- Candela Peña
- Antonia San Juan
- Penélope Cruz
- Rosa María Sardà
- Fernando Fernán Gómez
- Fernando Guillén
- Toni Cantó
- Carlos Lozano
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is All About My Mother about?
- After a devastating loss, a compassionate mother returns to Barcelona and builds an improvised family among theater people, sex workers, and women in crisis.
- What is All About My Mother like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of All About My Mother as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is All About My Mother violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in All About My Mother.
- What did critics think of All About My Mother?
- Critics broadly regard Pedro Almodóvar's vibrant, emotionally sincere melodrama as a compassionate and formally distinctive high point, praising its dimensional characters despite its conspicuous coincidences and theatrical excess.
- Which films are like All About My Mother?
- Films with a similar feel include All About Eve, A Streetcar Named Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Volver.
- How long is All About My Mother?
- All About My Mother runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch All About My Mother?
- In United States, All About My Mother is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
