Description
“All About My Mother”
“All About My Mother” can be found here:
the second film we’re exploring by Pedro Almodovar: “All About My Mother”, made in 1999.
You should only answer the questions here once you have watched the film, read the assigned articles.
I’ve decided to once again utilize the two-pronged approach to discussion by posting two questions; you are only required to answer one question though of course you’re free to answer both.
One question is designed for those of you who have a greater interest in narrative and who may be more interested in taking a film studies approach. The other question is intended for those of you who are eager to engage in an analysis of some of the cinematic/filmic elements present.
Please choose ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS to answer.
Question 1: The film is sometimes considered to be Almodovar’s most “female film”, which is interesting given that several of the films he’s made focus on the lives of women. Discuss one of the female narratives in this film – choose from either Agrado or Manuela or Huma or Rosa or Manuela’s ex, Lol – how does the character’s narrative impact the entire story?
How does this female character’s storyline borrow from genre tropes of melodrama?
How does it challenge melodrama and patriarchy?
Use at least one scene to demonstrate your arguments.
Question 2: Please choose from the following list of motifs in the film and discuss how the filmmaker uses these motifs in the cinematography of the movie to express certain ideas and moods. Try to be specific in your responses and reference actual scenes. Choose from this list of motifs: doorframes/window frames/bars/other architectural elements, the Agustin cameo, the body, the female body, mortality, hospitals/hospital equipment, the church, Madrid, Barcelona, Chanel, fashion, streetcars and street cars, mirrors, the stage, trains and tunnels, fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, drugs/nightlife, sex work, taxis, the sea, the homes of women