MovieChat Forums > Todo sobre mi madre (2000) Discussion > art movies...

art movies...

posted 21 years ago by the_romeo_error
20 replies | jump to latest

okay... see... i'm a film student... i've watched a lot of the "real art" movies... i'm one of the few in this world who REALLY loves cassavetes films, which is not your average cinema... but still, i can't seem to like this film... the story is soooo over the top, it keeps asking the viewer to cry (JUST DROP THAT TEAR YOU F***ING TWAT) that's so over the top that it irritates me more than it moves me. and the acting is not that good either, sometimes it's really crappy, like the scene with the real dad... he's so crappy...

this movie didn't move me at all... i don't understand why everyone finds it so great... except for the photography, i really don't like it.

i gave it a 4.

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] mustard_monkey 21 years ago

I have to study all about this film for my exam. I *beep* hate Pedro Almodovar's films. I can't believe how much lesson time we wasted watching his other films. One of the alternatives was La Haine, which I'm pretty sure the majority of film students at our college would rather have done. Blatently our feminist film teacher had a hand in selecting which films we would study.

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] el_panecillo 21 years ago

Thank you, I getting fed up of these "film students" speaking brutally about one the most beautiful pieces of film making. Todo sobre mi madre is a film about truth, love and reality. The characters each have their own story which the film follows, the center of these stories-Manuela. The film is pure Almodovar. Iam from Spain myself, and Almodovar is the best director out of country today. I now live in UK and see crap on cinema here. Films such "Todo sobre mi madre" are the exceptions in film, where you are blown away by the pure emotion, spirit and strength the characters.

[–] BlastBeatz 21 years ago

I too am a film student but i thought that this movie was great. Almodovar is really doing some incredible work, its a shame that some people aren't grasping it. La Haine is a great movie too, but it evokes different emotions than this film. Honestly i think i like La Haine better than this movie, but if i had to choose which film to study while i was in school, i definitely would have chosen Todo Sobre Mi Madre - there is so much more going on.

[–] june-6 21 years ago

I wasn't into this movie too much. I don't know why. I was hesitant in going to see Habla con ella, but I really enjoyed that movie. It was really well done. I have seen this movie twice but I really have a hard time getting into it. I don't think it really matters if you're a film student or not, this is still the number one code in cinema; preference. That's what's so ironic about art. We argue to convince what is art, but isn't it in the eye of the beholder?

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] BlastBeatz 21 years ago

june i totally know what you mean about preference. speaking of which, i enjoyed "all about my mother" much more than "talk to her." i would have thought that most people would agree with me on that comparison, but its cool to hear other people's points of view (and preference).

[–] june-6 21 years ago

Well, I appreciate your sincereity. I think most people would just bash each others heads in with their own opinions. I do however, as a film student, respect and admire Pedro Almadorav. He is a brillant filmmaker. A lot of people I know do like All About My.., so you are definitely in good company. Keep up the insightful comments.

[–] AvantGardener 21 years ago

I think most people hate this film because they don't understand it; rather, they take it for face value. It's meant to be a melodrama. The situations are highly exaggerated. This movie wasn't the best movie of all time, but it was excellent. And the scene at that prostitution "ring" was breathtaking--very Filinni-esque. I love the ironic ending with the train going both ways, and the final line of the film delivered by Huma... the expression that she has, as though she has to deliver a final, dramatic quip before leaving. Wonderfully made film... I thought that the death of the Penelope Cruz character could have been better handled, but still... 9/10.

[–] Darkmire 21 years ago

I agree with the original poster. This film shouts : "YOU HAVE TO CRY!". Only film i cried was Donnie Darko when Grecthen and Donnie died.

To cry, you have to feel sympathy , to feel sympathy you have to like them . I am sorry but Penelope Cruz's character DESERVED to Die in the first place. You can say the kid died while following "his" dreams or something, but c'mon... It just did not fit it. And i did not feel a little bit about a travesty prostitute.

Not-bad musics, very good acting by the lead. But as i said, fim was designed to be sad, and it did not make it.

There was very well-made scenes though: The train coming-forth, and the Cruz's talk with her mother, when pictures at the back.

And I loved "Hob Con Ella". That was a far-superior film. All in my opinion of course.

Silence, is the sound of nature.

[–] MrGerbick 21 years ago

Excuse me, but you might want to indicate that you are about to spoil a movie before you go ahead and do so. Here's an example:

*****************************SPOILER!******************************************

Rosebud is really a sled!

Don't make any assumptions about what people have and haven't seen (though I would say the rosebud thing is too famous to be much of a spoiler. Kinda like "Rick doesn't get Ilsa in the end of Casablanca") Please be more considerate.

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] bridgestm 20 years ago

Rick doesn't get Ilsa?? ; )

What other bombshells await me, I wonder...

-Kevin Costner is the spy?
-Debra Winger dies?
-Rhett leaves Scarlet?
-The Titanic sinks?
-Sarah Jane throws a fit at Annie's funeral?
-PeeWee Herman gets his bike back?
-Hannibal Lecter gets away?
-The Muppets *do* take Manhattan?

Sorry. I'll stop being a smartas*.

Todo Sobre... is fantastic. According to Pedro Almodovar, it's a screwball drama, mixing the conventions of screwball comedy and melodrama. These are both love-'em-or-hate-'em propositions, I think.

But he's hardly a sentimentalist. Check out Carne Tremula or ¡Atame!

~Most people confuse their opinions with the truth.~

[–] kinesis00 21 years ago

It's funny that you found sympathy with the characters in Donnie Darko...I thought the only thing that film had going for it was the cinematography and the set. It was pretty to look at, but I felt nothing for the characters and thought the entire plot was predictable.

On subject though, Todo Sobre Mi Madre was ok, not my favorite movie but not the worst one I've ever seen (that award goes to the overrated and exceptionally annoying Clifford--not the big red dog, you freaks). I think Almodovar's movies are interesting to watch, because they are bright and crazy and different from the mainstream, but I don't turn to them for a believable story of life, or characters that I will have a lot of sympathy for. I think his movies are more a commentary on life and society, and a bubble gum one at that.

[–] Kiggzy69 21 years ago

I dont think you were supposed to feel the need to cry. The film presents the notion of death in a very unsentimental way. Death is a part of everyday life to spanish people, so they would not react in the same way as we might. I think the film is all about the future, hopes of changing society, and changing the idea of Family. Its all positive and good.
Melodrama makes it larger than life, it didnt evoke any genuine emotions in me, it just wasnt serious enough. Agrado lightend the moments with her brand of humour, and even Lola, a very tragic and serious character wasnt that serious, her over active eyebrows and over dramatic performance dampend down any low emotions so that you are not allowed to believe in the film world, cannot cry or be drawn in to the sad world of the film.

[–] missargentina 20 years ago

She deserved to die!? Why?

[–] fantasmagorica 21 years ago

my favourite almodovar movies are 'mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios', 'tacones lejanos' and maybe 'pepi luci boom y otras chicas del montón'..i think 'todo sobre my madre' is a overrated... i guess it's the kind of movie that wins a crappy oscar.. duh!

[–] Darkmire 21 years ago

Sorry but if you are actually reading a message board of a film i assume you have watched it. I use spoiler alerts in my comments but never thought i should have used them in message boards.

Will do next time though.

Silence, is the sound of nature.

[–] nhannan 20 years ago

It won over 30 film awards throughout the world - not just 1 Oscar. Well deserved too.