All About My Mother

"Part of every woman is a mother/actress/saint/sinner. And part of every man is a woman."

1999 1h 41m ES

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 2,122🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●87Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 107,945

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.

“Part of every woman is a mother/actress/saint/sinner. And part of every man is a woman.”

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Cast

Cecilia Roth
Manuela
Marisa Paredes
Huma Rojo
Candela Peña
Nina
Antonia San Juan
Agrado
Penélope Cruz
Rosa
Rosa María Sardà
Rosa's Mother
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Rosa's Father
Fernando Guillén
Doctor in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writers: Pedro Almodóvar, Marcos de Aguilar
Languages: Catalan, Spanish
Countries: Spain, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $68M — a 13.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Catalan, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Spain, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, shot by Affonso Beato. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alberto Iglesias. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor José Salcedo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cecilia Roth and Marisa Paredes and Candela Peña carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Pedro Almodóvar directs. Affonso Beato behind the camera. Alberto Iglesias scores. José Salcedo cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Spain, France. Dialogue in Catalan, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $68M — a 13.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Catalan, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: Spain, France.
5Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, shot by Affonso Beato. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Alberto Iglesias. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor José Salcedo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Cecilia Roth and Marisa Paredes and Candela Peña carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Part of every woman is a mother/actress/saint/sinner. And part of every man is a woman.".
10IMDB entry: tt0185125 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "drug abuse", "barcelona, spain", "transvestism", "transplantation".
12Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Affonso Beato
Original score: Alberto Iglesias
Editing: José Salcedo
Costume design: Bina Daigeler
Makeup / hair: Juan Pedro Hernández
Stunt coordinator: Antonio Lemos
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $67,958,231
Return: 1359% of budget
Original language: ES
Certification (US): R
IMDB: All About My Mother (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 87/100
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 107,945 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 59 wins & 40 nominations total

European Film Award for Best Film
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
European Film Award - People's Choice Award for Best Director
European Film Award for Best Actress
César Award for Best Foreign Film
Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Pedro Almodóvar

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

lmao72017-03-17
★ 8/10
This film got my attention right away because of the references to 2 of my fave old Hollywood films : All About Eve and Streetcar Named Desire. Melodramatic with a lil comedy. My fave scene when all 4 ladies were at the couch just chatting and laughing. I love all the characters (maybe not Nina). Agrado…for the win! Penelope…what a beautiful nun, so sad about her situation though. Huma, at first kinda off (as she didn’t give the autograph to the son) but as the movie went on, I liked her character more and more. And Cecilia, very empowering. At first, the other characters were supposed to be helping the mother but in the end, she was the one who helped all of them, in a way. Feel good dramatic film.
badelf2022-07-09
★ 10/10
Of course, it's an Almodovar, so it's already a great film. But this one - the artistic shots, the characters, the story, the humanity - all top notch. I think this film might be his best.
CinemaSerf2025-04-17
★ 7/10
When a tragedy occurs that profoundly impacts on “Manuela” (Cecilia Roth) she heads back to her old home in Barcelona to reunite with her estranged transgender husband (Toni Cantó) and share her bad news. Her arrival in the city sees her reconnect with her transvestite pal “Agrado” (the outstanding Antonio San Juan) and that’s the start of her enjoyably characterful journey through the city where her innate kindliness also sees encounters with many of the quirkiest of it’s residents - including “Sister Rosa” (Penélope Cruz) who happens to be a pregnant nun - and you’ll never guess who the father is! There’s also a struggling actress “Huma” (Marisa Paredes) who is having the wobbles ahead of a performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire” as well as some troubles with her younger pal “Nina” (Candela Peña) whose habit is starting to get a bit out of control. If you look at the all of the ingredients here, it can seem a little contrived but the combination of a forceful and powerful effort from Roth and some creative flair from an on-form Pedro Almodóvar manages to create a series of scenarios that flow effortlessly from the seemingly sublime to the ridiculous whilst raising a few smiles along the way and dealing with some serious topics, like Alzheimer’s, grief and identity issues along the way. The photography is intimate and almost as mischievous as the writing that makes a series of points succinctly yet without ever becoming sentimental or sanctimonious. Team Almodóvar at it’s best, here.