National critics review 'All About My Mother'

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In "All About My Mother" the world of acting becomes a source of inspiration to women as they improvise their way through their own lives, with the kind of strength, passion and humor this filmmaker has always celebrated. Almodóvar has expressed the idea of life as a divine form of acting before, but never with the kind of clarity and beauty that glitter here.

"All About My Mother," his best film by far, is all about how tragedies of the flesh can yield renewal and hope despite the pain they leave behind, which is as clear an understanding of what makes movies tick as Almodóvar will ever need. It's the crossover moment in the career of a born four-hankie storyteller of ever-increasing stature. Look out, Hollywood, here he comes.

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Almodóvar's earlier films sometimes seemed to be manipulating the characters as an exercise. Here the plot does handstands in its eagerness to use coincidence, surprise and melodrama. But the characters have a weight and reality, as if Almodóvar has finally taken pity on them--has seen that although their plights may seem ludicrous, they're real enough to hurt. These are people who stand outside conventional life and its rules, and yet affirm them. Families are where you find them and how you make them, and home, it's said, is the place where, if you have to go there, they have to take you in.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun Times

The story's structure and themes are echoed in references to "All About Eve," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "How to Marry a Millionaire." The three main characters of "All About My Mother" aren't quite as carefree as the trio of man-hunting models in "Millionaire," but they do support each other when the chips are down. Spontaneous solidarity among women is one of the film's subjects.

In addition to grief, Bette Davis and acting, "All About My Mother" also deals with everything from AIDS to the pain and beauty of motherhood. And while American actresses are having their breast implants removed, the cross-dressers of "All About My Mother" offer their endorsement to artificial enhancement. "A woman," says Agrado (whose surgeon has been busy), "is more authentic when she looks like what she has dreamed for herself."

In other words, a woman trapped in a man's body should really try to get out.

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

From Rotten Tomatoes

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