All about my Mother review

 Number 386 on the top 1000 films of all time is Pedro Almodavar's 1999 Spanish comedy-drama All About my Mother.

Manuela Echevarria (Cecillia Roth) is an Argentine nurse and single mother who after losing her son - the aspiring writer Esteban (Eloy Azorin) - in a car accident, travels to Barcelona to reconnect with her estranged husband - the transgender Lola (Toni Canto) - of whom she hid Esteban's birth from. Along the way she befriends actress Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes) nun Rosa (Penelope Cruz) and transgender sex worker Agrado (Antonia San Juan.)

In 1999, the conversation around gender identity and transgenderism wasn't nearly as prevalent as it is now. Yet you still had directors like Pedro Almodavar who pioneered these so important dialogues. He did this by creating a humourous but touching story which won a whole host of International Best Film awards including the Oscar, Bafta and Golden Globe. The characters all felt real rather than cartoonish stereotypes or box-ticking tokens. At least that's from my perspective of a cis male. However, it has been praised by the trans community for its honest, authentic and level-headed portrayal of the trans experience.

All About my Mother explored themes like gender identity, motherhood and family through a fresh and unique lens. Although things start in tragedy with Esteban's death, Manuela soon has a new chance to become a mother when she begins taking care of the HIV positive nun Rosa. Rosa is later revealed to be pregnant by Manuela's husband. Cruz and Roth were great in the lead roles helping to provide humanity to their sad characters. They navigated the difficult subject matter well.

This applies to the rest of the cast too. From Azorin's brief role as Esteban to Canto playing his estranged father and especially the brilliant Antonia San Juan as sex worker Agrado, a lot of humanity was afforded to the film's large cast of characters. Out of all of them perhaps Agrado is the most tragic yet she was also the most human. 

Probably appropriate to Esteban, a theatrical version of a Streetcar named Desire plays throughout the film with Manuela and Huma in the lead roles. It served as a nice metaphor for how these old characters were trying to navigate a new unfamiliar time, much like Blanche in New Orleans.

Overall, this was an entertaining film about identity - much like the Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - it navigated contentious issues with ease, introducing humour and heartbreak to a very important conversation.