Relationship amongst the female characters in the film “All about my mother” “All about my mother” is a film by Pedro Almodovar which depicts realistic relationships amongst various individuals in the film. The main characters in the film are mainly female characters and Almodovar beautifully showcases the organic connection blossom between them. Manuela, who is the main protagonist, loses her seventeen year old son Esteban as he run over by a car when he is trying to get an autograph from an eminent theatre actress Huma Rojo after watching a play called ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Due to this huge loss, Manuela decides to go to Barcelona in order to find the father and tell him about their son and of his demise. When Manuela arrives in Barcelona, she runs into an old friend called Agrado. Agrado then tells Manuela that Lola, Esteban’s father had robbed her of all her money and taken off. Agrado then introduces Manuela to a nun called Rosa so that she can provide Manuela with a job. Manuela once again goes to watch the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and after the play ends, she casually walks into Huma Rojo’s dressing room. Without asking too many questions, Huma asks Manuela to take her in her car to find her partner Nina who is a drug addict. Manuela does so and she comes back to meet Huma the next day. Huma trusts Manuela instantly and offers her a job of being her personal assistant. Rosa finds comfort in Manuela’s presence and asks her if she can rent a room and stay with her. When asked why, Rosa tells Manuela that she is pregnant and that her mother would not understand. Rosa also mentions that the father of her soon to be child is Lola and this appalls Manuela. Manuela refuses to take her in but agrees to take Rosa to the doctor. When the test results are stated, Rosa gets to know that she is HIV positive and this makes Manuela change her mind. Almodovar intricately weaves the lives of each of these characters into one another. This film showcases the daily struggles faced by women and startlingly puts forward the ebb and flow of female emotions. The film is from the point of view of the women characters and this establishes the fact that

Almodovar is a very sensitive filmmaker. Each of these female characters are struggling in some way or the other (either emotionally or physically), but they find solace in each others company. Rosa finds respite in Manuela’s presence and Manuela in hers and in Rosa’s child Esteban. Huma and her partner Nina share a volatile relationship which ends sourly. Agrado too finds happiness in helping Huma and also experiences a sense of belonging when Manuela and little Esteban come to visit her. Huma feels indebted to Manuela after she gets to about Esteban’s death but slowly a bond of friendship is formed between her and Manuela. She too experiences a sense of belonging when Manuela visits Agrado and her. Lola, who is also HIV positive, comes back to Barcelona in search of Rosa and other people who he wants to say a last farewell to. He meets Manuela at Rosa’s funeral and Manuela finally tells him about their son. Manuela also brings Rosa’s baby to him and he meets the child for one last time. The film is melodramatic just as life is and is also realistic in the way the relationships are portrayed.

Acceptance; bizarre; strangers; sexuality on the surface

“All about my mother” by Pedro Almodovar is an impressive portrayal of the unusual relationships shared by various female characters in the film. The film is about Manuela who is the main protagonist and how she copes with her son’s demise. The film also throws light on transsexuals and the peculiar relationships that emerge amongst the women and the transsexuals. But all this is only on the surface. The subtext of the film reveals something entirely different. The director has taken inspiration from real life events and circumstances but the way in which the film has been crafted and put together is very stylistic and difficult for us to accept as real. The film talks about transsexuals, a nun who gets pregnant and other such bizarre events but the characters and even the director himself doesn’t seem taken aback by it. The film also portrays a strong relationship blossom between the female characters as a result of strange encounters. For instance, even though Huma Rojo doesn’t know Manuela, she trusts her and offers her a job to be her personal assistant. Rosa too trusts Manuela more than her own mother and asks her if she can stay with her. This form of kindness bestowed by strangers and the acceptance of this kindness from strangers is an underlying subtext of the film. The title ‘All about my mother” is also another underlying point which mystifies us at first. The question of who is saying these words comes into our minds. According to me, these words are said by the Director himself as a kind of homage to his mother and to the repressed transsexuals of the society.