All About Almodóvar: All About My Mother (Encore in 35mm!)

A grieving mother, a pregnant nun, a trans sex worker and a lesbian stage actress collide in this near-fantasy that vacillates with windshield-wiper intensity between poignant gravity and razor-sharp wit. Known as one of the foremost “actor’s directors,” Almodóvar deftly shepherds Cecilia Roth, Penelope Cruz, and the delightfully pugnacious Antonia San Juan toward singular, nuanced performances throughout a narrative so multifaceted and evolutionary, it almost demands a fine-print road map. This contemporary chamber play, in which each subplot could easily sustain its own feature-length film, unfolds by way of a vibrant cross-section of women yanked directly from Spanish barrios, classic Hollywood dramas, and scenes from late-career Cassavetes for Almodóvar’s ultimate example of the profound interconnectedness of the feminine experience. Dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 1999, 35mm, 101 min.