
Esta película es un homenaje desgarrado a la vida que se aferra, tal vez, al artificio para sobrevivir. "Todo sobre mi madre" (1999), la obra quizá más redonda y profundamente humana de Pedro Almodóvar, trasciende, digamos que, su propia estética colorista y se convierte en un drama de una pureza emocional yo diría que inigualable.
Se sabe que esta película es una especie de tributo a "Un tranvía llamado Deseo" del gran e inolvidable Tennessee Williams. Pero va más allá incluso, el manchego teje su propio melodrama, y va, desde la construcción de la identidad a la familia elegida.
Manuela tras la trágica muerte de su hijo es la cuerda de la que tira el caballo de esta trama. Creo entender que una especie de viaje circular, algo así como el regreso a los orígenes, una búsqueda que es, en realidad, una huida.
Para mí que he estudiado el guión como ese artístico pero además trabajo con guiones todos los días de la vida puedo decirte que el que esta película es un guión es intrincado, lo que pasa es que está tan bien ensamblado que cada encuentro, cada personaje, es como una pieza de un puzzle.
La aparente casualidad del melodrama (reencuentros, secretos revelados) se vuelve en esta puesta, una herramienta de una lógica narrativa superior. Es destino y es edención.
Almodóvar dota su historia de una carga simbólica y emocional que se reinterpreta como fortalezas en ese juego inaudito y atractivo.
Podrás encontrar almas rotas magnéticas que se rehacen en una estructura que podría aparecer caótica, digamos que abarrotada de sucesos. En esta película el dolor y la alegría son caras de una misma moneda.
Cecilia Roth, como Manuela, se explaya en una actuación monumental en su contención.
Hay dolor en su mirada en sus pequeños gestos de madre convertida al servicio o digamos mejor a la servidumbre de los demás.
Marisa Paredes, en Huma Rojo, es tragedia y carne, diva y fuerza en el escenario pero frágil como una rosa, frágil.
Penélope Cruz, consagrada ya dramáticamente, encarna a la hermana Rosa, y anuncia, una ternura y una fe a toda prueba, me parece que esta chica llega a convertirse sin lugar a dudas en el corazón incorruptible de la historia.
El monólogo de Antonia San Juan, puede que resulte algo así como, un manifiesto, y no creo equivocarme cuando digo que tal vez sea una de las escenas más memorables del cine español.
Técnicamente, Todo sobre mi madre es una obra maestra del estilo Almodóvar en su cenit. La fotografía de Affonso Beato baña Barcelona con una paleta de rojos passionarios, azules melancólicos y verdes esperanzados, regala una atmósfera tan artificial como veraz.
La dirección de arte es meticulosa, es significativa: cada escenario, desde el hospital hasta el piso de Rosa, cuenta una historia. Y la cuenta bien sí señor, La edición, digamos que es fluida, elegante...
Es una película que, aunque se mueve en los territorios del melodrama clásico, no cae en lo sensiblero. Es honesta en su planteamiento. Y alcanza a ser a la vez un homenaje al arte de actuar.
🇺🇸 ENGLISH VERSION

This film is a poignant homage to life that clings, perhaps, to artifice in order to survive. "All About My Mother" (1999), perhaps Pedro Almodóvar's most complete and profoundly human work, transcends, let's say, its own colorful aesthetic and becomes a drama of an emotional purity that I would say is unparalleled.
It is known that this film is a kind of tribute to "A Streetcar Named Desire" by the great and unforgettable Tennessee Williams. But it goes even further; the filmmaker from La Mancha weaves his own melodrama, exploring themes ranging from the construction of identity to the chosen family.
Manuela, after the tragic death of her son, is the driving force of this plot. I believe I understand it as a kind of circular journey, something like a return to origins, a quest that is, in reality, an escape.
As someone who has studied screenwriting as an artistic discipline, and who also works with screenplays every day, I can tell you that this film is an intricate screenplay, but it's so well-assembled that each encounter, each character, is like a piece of a puzzle.
The apparent coincidence of the melodrama (reunions, revealed secrets) becomes, in this production, a tool of superior narrative logic. It is destiny and it is redemption.
Almodóvar imbues his story with a symbolic and emotional weight that is reinterpreted as strengths in this unprecedented and captivating game.
You will find magnetic broken souls that are rebuilt within a structure that might appear chaotic, let's say, overflowing with events.
In this film, pain and joy are two sides of the same coin.
Cecilia Roth, as Manuela, delivers a monumental performance of restraint.
There is pain in her gaze, in her small gestures, like a mother turned into a servant, or rather, a servant, of others.
Marisa Paredes, in Huma Rojo, is tragedy and flesh, a diva and a force on stage, yet fragile as a rose, fragile.
Penélope Cruz, already a dramatic icon, embodies Sister Rosa, and her unwavering tenderness and faith seem to me to undoubtedly become the incorruptible heart of the story.
Antonia San Juan's monologue might be considered something of a manifesto, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that it is perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in Spanish cinema.
Technically, All About My Mother is a masterpiece of Almodóvar's style at its peak. Affonso Beato's cinematography bathes Barcelona in a palette of passionate reds, melancholic blues, and hopeful greens, creating an atmosphere as artificial as it is truthful.
The art direction is meticulous and meaningful: every setting, from the hospital to Rosa's apartment, tells a story. And it tells it well, indeed. The editing is fluid and elegant.
It's a film that, while venturing into the realm of classic melodrama, avoids sentimentality. It's honest in its approach and manages to be, at the same time, a tribute to the art of acting.
🇧🇷 VERSÃO EM PORTUGUÊS

Com este filme, Almodóvar não apenas presta homenagem a "Um Bonde Chamado Desejo", de Tennessee Williams, mas também tece seu próprio melodrama essencial sobre a construção da identidade e a família escolhida.
A trama gira em torno de Manuela após a trágica morte de seu filho. É uma jornada circular de volta às origens, uma busca que, na realidade, é um voo para frente.
Almodóvar constrói um roteiro intrincado e perfeitamente montado, onde cada encontro, cada personagem, é uma peça essencial de um quebra-cabeça. A aparente casualidade do melodrama (reencontros, segredos revelados) é uma ferramenta de uma lógica narrativa superior, que dita o destino e a redenção da humanidade.
Embora a trama possa ser acusada de depender excessivamente de coincidências, Almodóvar as reveste de um peso simbólico e emocional tão grande que elas são reinterpretadas como pontos fortes.
O mundo que ele apresenta é um mundo onde almas quebradas se atraem mutuamente para se curarem. A estrutura, por vezes densa, é na verdade um reflexo da própria trama caótica e sobreposta da vida, onde dor e alegria são duas faces da mesma moeda.
Cecilia Roth, como Manuela, oferece uma atuação monumental em sua contenção. Sua dor transparece em seu olhar, nos pequenos gestos de uma mãe que transformou sua vida em um ato de serviço. Ela é o eixo moral e emocional em torno do qual gira o universo almodovariano.
Marisa Paredes, como Huma Rojo, é a tragédia encarnada, a diva cuja força no palco contrasta com sua fragilidade na vida privada.
Penélope Cruz, no papel que a consagrou como atriz dramática, personifica a Irmã Rosa com uma ternura e fé comoventes, sendo o coração incorruptível da história. E Antonia San Juan, como La Agrado, é o motor da vitalidade e da honestidade mais crua. Seu monólogo sobre "autenticidade" é um manifesto em si e uma das cenas mais memoráveis do cinema espanhol. A química entre elas não é de uma amizade convencional, mas de uma irmandade forjada na adversidade, uma sinergia que sustenta todo o filme.
Tecnicamente, Tudo Sobre Minha Mãe é uma obra-prima do estilo de Almodóvar em seu auge. A fotografia de Affonso Beato banha Barcelona em uma paleta de vermelhos apaixonados, azuis melancólicos e verdes esperançosos, criando uma atmosfera tão artificial quanto verdadeira.
A direção de arte é meticulosa e significativa: cada cenário, do hospital ao apartamento de Rosa, conta uma história. A montagem, por sua vez, é fluida e elegante, permitindo que os momentos dramáticos respirem sem cair no sensacionalismo.
A trilha sonora, com o uso magistral de "Tajabone", de Ismael Lo, e a comovente partitura de Alberto Iglesias, envolve o filme em um manto de melancolia e esperança. Almodóvar demonstra aqui um domínio completo de sua arte, onde cada elemento técnico está a serviço da emoção e da ideia.
"Tudo Sobre Minha Mãe" é o ápice das obsessões de seu autor: maternidade, o teatro como vida, a fluidez da identidade, a resiliência feminina.
É um filme que, embora se movimente pelo território do melodrama mais clássico, jamais cai no sentimentalismo graças à sua honestidade intelectual e emocional. Consegue ser, ao mesmo tempo, uma homenagem à arte da atuação e um drama comovente sobre luto e reconstrução.
Este filme não é apenas para os amantes do cinema de Almodóvar, mas para qualquer pessoa que acredite no poder do cinema de abordar as grandes questões humanas com beleza, inteligência e um coração tão grande quanto o de seus protagonistas.
Uma obra-prima que não envelhece, porque seu tema é, simplesmente, eterno.
Traducciones al inglés y portugués en Google Translation

Escribo ficciones. Algunos de mis libros publicados son: Convite de Cenizas (2002), Tras la piel (2004), En este lado de la muerte (2014), El orden natural de las cosas (2015), La Sangre del Marabú (2020), La Sexta Caballería de Kansas (2024) y La Nada Infinita (2024)



The Hand That Rocks the Cradle 2025 just dropped on Hulu a couple of days ago, I CAN NOT RECOMMEND this one, this is the type of script that Maika Monroe should know to just walk away, she does have a few movies I like, there is "It Follows (2014)" and most recent "Longlegs (2024)" and after sitting through this thing I got to say it feels like one of those remakes nobody really wanted, you know what I mean. The original back in 1992 had Rebecca De Mornay doing her thing as this psycho nanny and people still enjoy the drama out of that movie today because it worked, it had real tension, real scares and that whole evil woman moving into your house vibe was perfect. This new version directed by Michelle Garza Cervera tries to do something different, witch I can respect because we are in the era of lets reboot every movie from the 80s and 90s under the sun and call it "not a remake" so they add their own sauce to it and Im all in for that but honestly it just does not land the same way this time, not even close. Its got Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe in the lead roles and there both solid actors, no complaints about the performances but the script feels super lazy and you can see most of the twists coming from a mile away, its like most Fatal Attraction inspired movie, you already know wth going to happen but there are some that as I said at their own sauce and works, but this one just ruins all the suspense been so obvious and predictable.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/aek957jh)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/aek957jh)
Monroe does her best with what she was given, and she brings that creepy energy, she was doing something with her performance that gives you chills but its not Rebecca De Mornay level, nobody here is on that level honestly. Winstead plays Caitlin as this super controlling type A mom who freaks out about everything, she is obsessed with what her kids eat, staying fit and micromanaging every aspect of her familys life, witch makes her annoying to watch I guess that was good to a certain point because the movie is making you feel at least something but then there is nothing that tame her down, nothing in contrast to keep things balance. The husband Miguel played by Raul Castillo is my biggest issue with this movie because this dude is the weakest, most spineless character I have seen in forever. Every time Caitlin tries to tell him something is wrong with Polly, he brushes her off, acts like she is paranoid, even when she has legit concerns, he is like nah your crazy and it gets frustrating watching it play out. I get the movie is showing maritial problems and how Polly uses that against them but damn this guy needed to have his wifes back once. There was a scene where the nanny gives there 10 year old daughter fireworks and the kid almost blows her hands off in her bedroom and Miguels response is basically well you hired her, like are you serious, your daughter almost got hurt bad and your defending the nanny, it makes no sense. The script tries giving him depth by making him Mexican, throwing in lines about feeling like an outsider but it goes nowhere, its just there to check boxes. The mystery of why Pollys doing this takes forever to get revealed and when it happens, its not terrible, turns out Caitlin used to be named Jennifer as a teenager.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/aek957jh)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/aek957jh)
She burned down Pollys family house killing everyone except Polly, because Pollys dad was sexually abusing both Jennifer and his own daughter for years and nobody believed Jennifer, so she changed her name and moved on, while Polly grew up in foster care plotting revenge for like 30 years and some change, its dark as hell, worse than the original motivation. But the movie does not do enough with it, by the time you find out you are like men its too late for surprises because after that the movie feels like its over there is nothing to carry the momentum because the pacing dragged so long and nothing shocking happened to keep you interested enough. Polly spends most the movie doing small sabotage like switching Caitlyns meds with meth, adding sugar to the kids food, starting little fires, witch feels tame compared to the original. There was also this thing where Polly might be attracted to Caitlin , because Caitlyns bisexual and that adds psychological manipulation that could of been interesting and they could have added some kind of obsession potentially sexual to mix things up but I guess then wanted to stick to the original story, but the movie does not commit to be revolutionary or changes things up, it teases it then drops it.
The supporting characters are useless, there is this guy Stewart whos Caitlyns neighbor, supposed to be the suspicious friend like Julianne Moore in the original, he had this fishy suspicious about Polly for living in Boyle Heights a lower income area, a bit racist if you ask me but since its Polly I wasnt going to rain on his show although its his execution that was weak. Then he investigates Polly by breaking into her room, stealing her trash to do a DNA test with her used tampon and soda can, first who does that, second why confront her alone instead of calling cops. Stewart had it coming for been that type of idiot so as expected Polly beats him to death with a bat and thats the only kill in the movie, pretty weak. The ending is rushed as hell, that is where it falls apart, Caitlin confronts Polly at the house, they fight, Polly stabs her with broken glass, but Caitlin grabs her baby and jumps in her car. Polly jumps on the windshield with a hammer trying to smash through, then comes in this missing stop sign from earlier in the movie that Caitlin use to freak out about, that comes into play as she just goes into incoming traffic and I think it was a lady in a Land Rover runs it and slams into Caitlyns car sending Polly flying through the air. Its hilarious watching her body spin and land mangled with her arm twisted wrong, its the most entertaining part but it happens fast, then its just over. Miguel shows up after walking slow from a softball game and thats it, no resolution, lights come on, gladly this is not a theater movie because there would be torches and pitch forks raise. I would give this a out of 10, Winstead and Monroe try there best, theres some decent moments but it could of been way better if they committed to darker themes and gave us a real third act.











Portada Editada en 





[Source](https://tinyurl.com/4j3pypn2)
The movie is all over the place with no clear direction or focus on any one idea, at least thats my perception. The startup scene I was talking about is David getting an exorcism performed on him, the movie seem to try way too hard to copy The Exorcist with those camera angles and the way they framed certain shots that makes it look frame by frame like the exorcist. Ed is doing his thing reading from religious texts, Lorraine is having her visions like always, the kid is doing that wall crawling routine I have seen in every possession movie ever made. Then you got Arnie who is dating Davids sister Debbie and he goes ahead and does probably the stupidest move possible by telling the demon to take him instead of the kid, I get it he did out of good heart because he couldn't take the pressure anymore, every single horror movie tells you not to invite evil into your body but this guy does it anyway without thinking twice about it. The demon obviously jumps at the chance for a new host because why wouldnt it, free fresh meat, then Ed has a heart attack right in the middle of everything which the movie uses as a way to keep him on the sidelines even though he bounces back pretty quick and starts investigating like nothing happened. After this first drive through exorcism happens then the whole movie shifts into this procedural format where its less about scaring you and more about watching Ed and Lorraine investigate clues like some kind of supernatural police, for some time its entertaining but then starts to drag, I know Im complaining a bit on this post but the truth is that this entire franchise is a hit and miss, what helps is that there are multiple movies on it to cover up. Arnie winds up stabbing his landlord Bruno to death while he is under the demons control, at least thats what we are suppose to believe but the murder scene plays out with Call Me by Blondie playing in the background to be all creepy. Using an 80s pop song during a killing is not scary at all, then the rest of the movie is just the Warrens attempting to prove Arnie was possessed so he doesnt get executed for murder. This could have been a cool legal thriller mixed with horror but they barely show any courtroom scenes, just one part where the lawyer brings up demonic possession as a defense and everyone acts shocked before cutting back to more detective work. They go around finding these little curse totems, talking to priests about satanic shit, visiting crime scenes where Lorraine uses her powers to see flashbacks of previous murders, none of it feels like something new to the franchise or even exciting.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/4j3pypn2)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/4j3pypn2)
The big twist ends up being some witch named Ilsa who is behind all the cursing and murdering, she just happens to be the daughter of this priest Father Kastner who they consulted earlier in the movie. Like what are the chances that out of every expert they could have gone to for help they pick the one guy whose kid is the actual villain, thats the kind of lazy writing that makes you think why they decided to make the answer so lame instead of working on a more complex mystery. Ilsa has been using these totems to curse random people and make them kill each other as sacrifices for a demon, Isla's whole deal in the movie is pretty straightforward but also kinda messed up, she is basically obsessed with Satan and the dark arts, and she was trying to complete this curse to gain power. The curse requires her to deliver souls to a demon through human sacrifices, specifically three people need to die, one by murder and one by suicide from three different "components". They try to make it seem mysterious by having Kastner say you cant understand satanists because they just do evil stuff for no reason, which is honestly the weakest excuse for a villian I have heard in a while because even in horror movies the bad guys need proper motivations that make sense. The climax takes place in these underground tunnels beneath Kastners house where Ilsas altar is all set up with candles and pentagrams and typical satanic looks, Ed has to smash the altar with a sledgehammer while Lorraine fights off possessed Ed who is trying to bash her head in with that same hammer, the scene was very intense until we fall for the same thing over and over, love. She breaks the possession by reminding him about their love story and how they met at a movie theater and had ice cream at some gazebo, its corny as hell but it works because the power of love beats demons apparently. Ed destroys the altar, the curse lifts, Arnie stops freaking out in his jail cell, then the demon shows up to punish Ilsa for not delivering the souls she promised by snapping her arms backwards and dragging her off to hell. That arm breaking effect was probably the only decent scare in the entire movie, everything else was pretty tame and predictable compared to what the earlier movies delivered.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/4j3pypn2)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/4j3pypn2)
The ending has Arnie getting convicted of manslaughter even after the curse gets broken so the entire investigation was worthless because they couldn't get him out of jail, but its also the most realistic part of the whole thing because no judge or jury is going to accept the devil made me do it as a valid defense no matter what evidence you present, we taling about factual events, you might get less years and send to an institution but you are going to complete your time one way or another. He marries Debbie while locked up and they stay together which is kind of sweet but also depressing when you remember he is serving time for killing someone while possessed by a demon that wasnt his fault. The movie wraps everything up with Ed building Lorraine a gazebo replica from their first date decades ago, they kiss and act all happy despite just finishing one of their most dangerous cases according to the story. Problem is nothing ever feels dangerous or tense during the movie but Im not sure if thats exactly what they were going for with the investigator role they added, the scares are weak, the story jumps around without any smooth flow, the villain Ilsa just looks like some angry librarian instead of an actual terrifying supernatural threat. She doesnt do anything particularly that sticks with you, just stands around looking pissed off and doing witch stuff in the shadows. 


























