All About My Mother
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: November 19, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
87
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
34
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
The most heartfelt tribute to women -- specifically, actresses -- he's (Almodovar) ever made.
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
This is more than a movie: It's Almodovar's design for living.
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
It's enough to make your head spin, but Almodovar, whose mastery of the medium has never been more assured, gives you plenty to think about, ultimately grounding the dizzy whirl of his idiosyncratic fictional world in a story that feels not just true but universal. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
As dark as a Greek tragedy yet it has a vibrance and joie de vivre that can't be contained by grief. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Almodovar has created an ecstatic homage to the women who have inspired him all his life.
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Almodovar still populates his work with characters you'll see nowhere else in movies. Read full review
88
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Some will find the movie's sexual antics too explicit and unconventional for comfort. Read full review
90
Film.comPeter Brunette
Funny and wise, lively and contemplative, intriguingly postmodern and powerfully moving, all at the same time. It's not to be missed. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Almodovar is adept at weaving together strands you'd never guess would match. Read full review
90
SalonStephanie Zacharek
So intrinsically rich that it doesn't need any metaphors. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The work of a talented filmmaker coasting on his own fumes.
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
It weaves life and art into a rich tapestry of love, loss and compassion. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The characters have a weight and reality, as if Almodovar 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. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Brimming with bittersweet wit and emotion and built with deceptively fluent craft.
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A surprisingly satisfying combination of bawdy sexual humor, genuine emotion and a plot with mechanics so excessive that Almodóvar himself calls it "a screwball drama." Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
For me it felt like a good many weeks at a politically correct summer camp, though the talented actors--including Cecilia Roth, Eloy Azorin, Marisa Paredes, Toni Canto, Antonia San Juan, and Penelope Cruz--certainly seem to enjoy the taste of the characters they're playing. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
The most mature and satisfying work in a glittering, consistently surprising career.
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
It's filled with marvelous performances, fabulous wit, and some dizzying images. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A tender genuflection to the women's energies that keep that spinning world from keeling over. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMarc Caro
Generous in spirit and always engaging as it demonstrates that no matter how difficult life may become, there's no excuse for being drab.
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
No one else makes movies like this Spanish director. Read full review
75
TNT RoughCutDon Kaye
Emerges as a thoughtful reflection on the many roles women must play throughout their lives.
90
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
As straightforward and plot-driven as any movie about life imitating art imitating life could possibly be. Read full review
88
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
Almodovar imbues his Harlequin-novel-meets-Marvel-comic-book melodramas with something more than a wink and a smile, and it's beguiling. Read full review
100
New York PostLou Lumenick
The year's best foreign-language movie an absolute must-see.
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Almodóvar's masterwork, is a spectacular synthesis of everything that has always interested him -- proud women, lovely boys, beautiful drag queens, grand movie stars, gorgeous frocks, wild wallpaper . Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Classic melodrama given a thoroughly modern, utterly Almodovarian face-lift. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
The unfettered comedy of life bubbling up from the Spanish unconscious continues to be proudly liberationist, gloriously extreme, and achingly human. Read full review
90
NewsweekDavid Ansen
This is humanism in drag: Almodovar's passionate redefinition of family values.
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
Even though the film is full of laughs, the jokes hover on the edge of the abyss: This is a world in which lurid colors and extravagant gestures are means of filling the void. Read full review
80
VarietyJonathan Holland
An emotionally satisfying and brilliantly played take on the ups and (mostly) downs of a group of less-than-typical female friends. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Just about everyone worth knowing in All About My Mother is female in spirit, which is to say they're all sexy, impossible, powerfully durable souls, quarrelsome and loyal, inventive at navigating the tragedies. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Mothers definitely get their due here: Birth mothers, adoptive mothers and mothers-to-be - with the only men in sight (save for one young fatality and one old eccentric) being those who wear flashy makeup and sport breasts
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Pedro Almodovar's transfixing tragicomedy -- the best foreign movie of the year -- is also the best showcase for actresses in ages.
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