Yayu Zheng
Professor Sophie Rochefort-Guillouet
History of Art, History in Arts
March 31, 2016
The Symphony of Bruise and Tolerance
- A film review for All about My Mother
All about my mother is a 1999 Spanish film directed by Pedro Almodóvar Caballero. It is difficult to determine which category it belongs to and the mood of the film itself. This is the sort of film that allows each audience's imagination the freedom to run wild: whether we should consider it as a heartbreaking depiction of a tragedy, or simply a soap opera in which the bright-colored and flashy art decoration increases its dramatic quality?
I. Part of Every Woman Is a Mother
What dominates All about My Mother is the identity of the mother. It follows the progress
of medical worker, Manuela, as her unfortunate son gets hit by a car and dies. Eighteen years ago, out of disappointment, she leaves Barcelona for Madrid while being pregnant by her husband, Esteban, who changes his name to Lola after the transsexual operation . She decides to start her new life alone with her unborn child. The other mother portrayed is nun Rosa, whose job is to help prostitutes. As a nun, she violates religious rules of the code of conduct, and by sheer tenacity and force of personality, decides to keep the child by herself. To our surprise, Rosa is also carrying Esteban's child, which heightens the drama, mystery, and suspense about Esteban, a transsexual prostitute who is regarded as the source of the evil and unhappiness. Manuela happens to know Rosa because of her old friend, Agrado, another transvestite hooker.In the hope of finding Esteban to tell him about the story of their son, Manuela chooses to take care of Rosa and later on, Rosa's son, after Rosa dies as a result of AIDS infected by Esteban.
It is never easy to analyze motherhood when people tend to claim it natural and unexplainable. Every child once has been a part of a mother's body and the separation can never be seen as complete for a mother. Here in this movie, Manuela is definitely a heroine character, who takes care of her son alone for years, helps Rosa with compassion and tries her best to be generous toward everyone.
The life experience of Manuela can be considered as a bit out of normality. Esteban leaves her and decides to live as a woman. At that moment, she finds out her pregnancy. As a young woman, she doesn't know what is the best solution for both of them. She is overwhelmed by the feeling of betrayal and desperation because what it is supposed to be a shared responsibility can never be an equal subject for men and women. As the slogan in the abortion movement, the decision to have and raise a child is the responsibility of a couple while the pregnancy and the struggle during the process are only an issue for women. With confusion, pressure and unsureness toward future, she finally chooses to flee the city which only brings her sadness and disappointment. She works hard in order to raise her son, her only companion.Her job as an administrator in the transplant center makes her experience the suffering of thousands of families, including mothers. Facing the death of their loved one, their desperation is not only a signal for kinship but also a deep connection built upon with time passing by and things they go through together, such as Manuela and her son. Indeed, no one is able to conclude on the subject called how to be a mother but everyone tries to offer what she thinks the best for the child. There are always disputes and conflicts between mothers and children but mostly it comes out of love, even sometimes irrational. When her son is killed by the car, the shouting and grieved sadness are far from being enough for a mother. It seems that an essential part of her own- self has been killed. Due to this, when she arrives in Barcelona, she looks for Huma,her son's idol. It's exactly when chasing after her for an autograph that he is accidently hit by another driving car on a rainy night. She wants to make his dream come true whatever it costs. The motivation of her trip is also derived from the dream Of his son: to find out the information about his father. He has been always curious about the unseen father, normal for such a kid who's growing up with a single mother alone. Therefore, Manuela decides to travel back to tell Esteban both the story and the death of their son. Compared to her own wish, she pays more attention to what her son wishes for long.The motivation of her trip is also derived from the dream of his son: to find out the information about his father. He has been always curious about the unseen father, normal for such a kid who's growing up with a single mother alone. Therefore, Manuela decides to travel back to tell Esteban both the story and the death of their son. Compared to her own wish, she pays more attention to what her son wishes for long.The motivation of her trip is also derived from the dream of his son: to find out the information about his father. He has been always curious about the unseen father, normal for such a kid who's growing up with a single mother alone. Therefore, Manuela decides to travel back to tell Esteban both the story and the death of their son. Compared to her own wish, she pays more attention to what her son wishes for long.
Meanwhile, after Manuela agrees to donate her son's organ, she chases down the receiver's life because she is willing to feel the same heart beating as that of her son though the reality is despairing since she has to only admit the fact that even the same tempo expresses totally different feelings.
It is sort of too arbitrary to claim that being a mother makes the identity of women different but doubtlessly it completes and enlarges the concept of the latter. The ability to act tenaciously under pressure plays an important role among all qualifications of a mother. The spirit is the same for Rosa, although the child is more like a humiliation for her. The birth is the gift she wants most and the health of the child is what she can sacrifice all herself for. Other characters in the film are not mothers but their personality shows the commodity. They tend to take care of each other and are not able to hide their sensibility when feeling emotionally touched.
II. Part of Every Woman Is an Actress
Human beings play throughout the life because life itself is a play. When sharing his
understanding of the difference between men and woman, Almodovar says that a woman, not necessary to be a professional actress, can hold outstanding acting skills.
There are several actresses in the film. The center of the film, Manuela, is an actress before she breaks up with Esteban. She plays the same character as Nona does in the performance called “A Streetcar Named Desire”, the occasion she encounters and falls in love with Esteban. Her talent in acting corresponds with her performance in the advertising video made by the transplant center to encourage and persuade more people to donate the organs of their loved ones. The video is more like an irony because when her son dies, she is being asked the same question: donate or not?
In her life, Manuela always plays as a strong woman although indeed she's always fearful for all the unexpected (perhaps the word “tragedy” is not dreadful enough to summarize her experience). The only option left is to keep adamant and never stop struggling against fate, in other words, to live as hard-bitten as possible. She has once been an actress on stage while in daily life she is certainly a full-time performer. Only with her perfect acting skills, she leaves people around her the impression of going through a tranquil life and signals herself that one day she will succeed in overcoming all the misfortune.
The story of another two professional actresses in the performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire” also play an important role. They are a lesbian couple while their relationship is unstable and sometimes hurtful. As Huma says, “she's (Nona) hooked on junk, I'm hooked on her.” The long-term career as an actress leads to a surrealist perspective and unrealistic fantasy. The feeling of being on stage obscures the boundary between reality and fiction. Sometimes, it is the fiction that makes people feel more reliable and comfortable because the chains in daily life usually seem to be more unbearable with the breathlessness. The cause of formation is evident to most people: an actress needs to play in various roles and the transition of identities can never be easy. It is the same logic of being a woman.The performance on stage finishes within the allotted time while the performance in life continues until the death.
Here in the film, we come up with the hostage to All About Eve made in 1950. When Manuela's son is recording his life when waiting for the starting of the movie, the film screened on the television is All About Eve. The camera angle is extraordinary and thought-provoking since the audience perceives from the view angle of the paper, which makes the shot of the pen acute and intense. The reason for this choice can be various: is it a new perspective the director tries to show? Or simply because he has no idea about how to put himself in the movie, whether to be a drama viewer or a serious philosopher working to catch the essence of life? When her son is killed by the car, there are several intercuts from that film. What's more, an allusion to the plot of All about Eve is ingeniously designed.When Nona cannot continue her performance due to her psychological crisis, Manuela, who has played the role before, volunteers to substitute for her. The climax of All about Eve is when the famous actress is completely replaced by a temporary actress who is supposed to play for only once. Nona mentions the film in order to harshly criticize Manuela's potential ambition.
In contrast to men, women tend to solve problems through a more mysterious and intricate approach. Thus, they play hard in order to fulfill social expectations imposed upon them. Nona leaves Huma and even gets married in her hometown, which may be counted as the start of a new drama. It's more like an actress who finishes the previous play and heads toward the next work.
III. Part of Every Woman Is a Saint
No one is perfect but being a saint does without perfection. The personage in the film closest
to the concept of a saint is Manuela, who out of her kindness takes care of almost everyone around her without seeking for reward. It does not mean that she has lost the desire to live for herself. However, when we take a close look at her life, her sacrifice is the most crucial part.
It is also interesting to look at the essence of a saint by analyzing the characteristics of Agrado, whose name means agreeable, to make everyone laugh and happy. She is a transvestite hooker, an old friend of Manuela but they haven't met each other since Manuela leaves. Among the low social class, she tries to escape from a client's sexual violence when Manuela happens to recognize her. Manuela saves her and through their conversation, audiences begin to know what happens before. Agrado has a playful and cheerful lifestyle, which is reflected clearly when we see how she asks for medicine at night. She is badly hurt but she never begs miserably. She always talks like the garrulous middle-aged woman. As a transgender, she has such a high degree of mental similarity with people who are born women. She makes jokes with fashion at times.When wearing a Chanel knockoff, she asks Manuela whether she believes it is the real Chanel. And then she says that even if she has money she will not buy it when knowing that there are so many poor in the world. It's hard to determine whether she's trying to be funny or she's serious about the poverty issue. However, her way of talking and her job as a hooker both emphasize the idea of “to satisfy others”.
What makes her distinguished is a scene when she is alone on stage. She is hired as the personal assistant for Huma whose main task is to help organize the performance. One day, Nona's mental crisis ruins the show; therefore, the show is supposed to be canceled. Facing the hostile audience, she has to start a monolog to calm them down, as she always does, to please people. She talks about her life, in particular, her transgender surgery. When people investigate her, she says that “ I have paid my dues to for today's me, what about you?” It reminds the audience of the character Laurence in Xavier Dolan's movie Laurence Anyways. When Laurence realizes that he is a woman born in a man's body, he shouts out that it is a sin. Betraying yourself is the biggest and mostly ignored sin in the world.The guilty along with the deception gradually eats up every part of yourself. Agrado is not only to please others but also tries her best to be a person she wants to be. She feels blessed when waking up and seeing herself as a real woman and all the suffering can be suddenly forgotten. She is a saint because she dares to struggle for what she wants in life. She is a saint because she is frank to everyone in her life. She is a saint because she insists on her optimistic and hopeful lifestyle . She is a saint because when pleasing others, she never lost her true self. It is difficult to live like that in a world known by judgments and comments on even whether the Chanel is real or not. Sometimes her greatness is more valued than a born woman. She knows the difficulty of becoming a woman. Thus, when she finally has the chance to live as a woman,she throws away all the second thoughts.
IV. Part of Every Woman Is a Sinner
The pregnancy of Rosa, a nun who has an affair with a transvestite hooker and then get
pregnant and AIDS, is a crucial sin in the film. Except for the immorality, she has to bear the child , or the sin, for months. She dies after giving birth, otherwise, she has to witness the child, the representative of her sin. Changes of her mental state and attitude towards life show her growing strength.
There is a field scene which reminds the audience of Fellini. In a gloomy parking lot, a lineup of flamboyant hookers is trying to stop the cars for business. Manuela's car is accidentally passing by and she encounters her old friend, Agrado. The hookers here are of all sexes. Two transvestites in the film are also seeking for life here.
The topic of prostitution is always controversial especially when it comes to transgender hookers. A newly released movie called Tangerine uses iPhone 5 to chase the life of transgender prostitutes in the darker and poorer side of Hollywood. Their life is much more like a soap opera full of surprising and dramatic theater of absurdity. The identity of being a hooker depresses their belief in love and trust on other people. The identity of the transgender to some extent provides them the double mentality, namely the male impulse and the female sentiment. Their life is directed into extremity by what happens unexpectedly at night. However, when we look at the daily routine of their life, it is no long a question of morality and social norm, but a question of how to survive as a person.There must be something that makes them so firm about the decision, to give up the gender dominance and hide in a dark corner. Or probably it is just the desire of being a woman and the easier way to make money and enjoy being economically free as much as they can. In order to be a saint frank to yourself, you may have to be a sinner at the same time. It is the real image of life which makes you a sinner and provide you the chance to struggle as a saint. There is no real division between a saint and a sinner in the film as they coexist. Usually, there is no clear gender division in Almodovar's life, a director growing up and exploring himself in the dark neighbor in Madrid. He cares for the social reality and refuses to be assimilated. When talking about his childhood, Almodovar emphasizes the feeling of being lonely.He can feel the care from outside but he never really feels close to them. His mindset reaches toward a blurring area which only can be touched by crossing the binary social boundary: the care for humanity itself without labeling and the stereotype sticking to people before knowing them in person.
In the burdening of its characters, All about My Mother is not like Almodovar's previous films, in which he tends to manipulate the experience of the characters to increase the dramatic effects. Too many coincidences seem to be distant from our daily life because most people are usually living a tasteless day. However, in this film, he includes various realistic elements. It is more difficult for the audience to sympathize with things that they have never experienced. In Almodovar's films, it is not possible to feel sympathetic with all the characters but normally, at least, one character's life touches your heart because it represents the sadness deep in your heart. The sensibility of his movie is more like tearjerker to every corner of humanity that people try to escape because of the fear of being hurt. However ,the exposure to the darkness helps people better prepared to face and overcome the self-depreciation. As Lee An says, the film is to bring you into darkness and every time after, you go back to relive. This is the spirit of the struggle, no matter whether heartbreak is real. There is no need to identify with the sin but everyone needs to learn how to warm the cockles of the heart.
V. Part of Every Man Is a Woman
It is hard to generalize this subtitle because any interpretation of gender category exists with
exceptions. However, in the film, the praise toward women is relatively evident. As a gay director, the focus of Almodovar does not come from the amorous but the spiritual level. When another world-acclaimed gay director, Todd Haynes, brings out his new work Carol which tells about lesbian's love affair, his understanding of the fine and smooth of the mental status of women impresses mass audiences. His way of depicting the nuance on the social background in the 1950s is precise, thorough and moving. To some extent , Almodovar's depiction of women offers the audience a similar kind of feeling, while there are also differentiated factors. In the film, we feel a sense of appreciation and hostage toward women. It is very interesting to see the paradoxical character, Esteban. The name , Esteban, also shows the continuity of the generations as well:the past, the present and the soon-to-come future for Manuela because her ex-husband, her son and the son of Rosa (her adopted son) are all named Esteban. The motivation of the first Esteban is not clearly provided in the film. He seems to be a combination of all unforgettable sins: he puts his wife away, he cheats his friend for money, he seduces and impregnates the nun. He is trying to be a woman but we never know the reason behind. Probably he is always hesitant toward everything, being a character wandering across the gender border but not being able to catch either of them. His existence is better to be understood as the demonstration for other people's forgiveness though his motivation is worthy of exploration if there is more information provided. Compared to Esteban, Agrado is a character that looks more like a real woman,who transforms not only physically but even more mentally. When a man talks about sex with her, she feels disdain about that although she understands where the desire comes from.
Two male characters in the film play a significant role as well. Manuela's son, the second Esteban and the father of Rosa who loses his memory. It is hard to argue the female nature of these male characters but during their connections with female characters we are able to see the magic. Esteban's writing is more about his life, his wish, and his sensitivity. His existence complements his mother's character while due to his identity of being a boy raised by a single mother, his sensitivity is even more obvious than most men. Rosa's father is a tragic character who almost loses all ability to record the shining moments of his life. When Rosa says good bye to him, he remembers nothing and reacts numb as usual. It is the last wording his daughter can ever say to him.The father is taken care by his wife while his disability brings him a sense of dullness. It is his inseparable link with women that balances his life or the continuity of breath.
VI. Conclusion
The most important message in the film may be tolerance. It is the character of women that
has something to do with the ten month's pregnancy from the start of humanity. Manuela tolerates Huma, who indirectly kills her son. If Huma is not that indifferent, her son won't run into the rain and die. There is a remarkable scene when four women sit together and share their own stories. Some of them are strangers toward each other, but due to the common feature that all of them endure sadness, a special and magical power rises up and enables them to temporarily get rid of the desperation.
When Manuela meets Lola (the first Esteban) in Rosa's funeral, she walks closer and what Lola has done to her suddenly becomes less important. She shows the photos and writings of their son. This behavior is both out of motherhood and out of womanhood. Sometimes people say that it is love that brings about hatred because when you love deeply you hurt easily. However, it is love that can cure the hurt by tolerance which may come out of nowhere. Tolerance is the biggest bravery because it is something that seems to never exist but it always exists and affects every part of our life. In such a film that challenges the conventional family values, it instead shows the final destination for any wandering human being. It is the concept of family, the idea of home. It doesn't need to be built upon kinship or certificate of marriage.It is something across every border and will take you in when you need it. The personal fate is not important in front of the social background while it is the love with tolerance toward the absurdity and ridiculousness of life that overcome any challenge and strengthen our faith .
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