MovieChat Forums > Todo sobre mi madre (2000) Discussion > Talk to Her and Volver are so much bette...

Talk to Her and Volver are so much better!

posted 17 years ago by cirving39
8 replies | jump to latest

I have to admit I saw Hable Con Ella and Volver before I saw Todo Sobre Mi Madre, and because of the wonderful quality of those two films, I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to see this highly acclaimed film.

Having said that, I have to be honest and say this film is massively over-rated, and it doesn't even deserve mention in the same breath as the other two films I referred to.

I cannot for a single moment understand the hype and praise this film received. The characters are totally overblown, totally unbelieveable...their actions and motivations are extremely difficult to access. Can somebody tell me why a supposedly dedicated nun would under any circumstances, have sex with a drug addict transsexual, who has the HIV virus?

The narrative is completely out of control and the structure of the film is totally unbalanced. It really is a mess. The only positives I could refer to are the high quality of the acting, and some of the excellent cinematography.

I really think it does Almodovar a disservice to suggest that this is one of his masterpieces. Sometimes, as a fan, which I am, and as a lover of cinema, it is kinder to be cruel and just say this is not very good, Pedro.

I have no problem with melodrama (Douglas Sirk does this kind of thing a million times better), and I appreciate Pedro's humanist approach to some of the more marginal characters in society, but I'm afraid this is a very poor example of both...indeed in many ways it seems to reinforce the stereotypes that it seeks to undermine.

[–] miguelvs 17 years ago

I had a completely opposite view of this film than yours. Granted, 'Hable con ella' and 'Volver' are excellent, but to me, 'Todo sobre mi madre' (TSM) is Pedro's best.

I watched it for the first time many years ago, when it was first released, and remember sitting speechless in the movie theater after the credits started to roll. I was an Almodovar fan way before then, and after watching TSM I decided he had become my favotite director. With TSM you see a mature Almodovar, nothing like his previous efforts, and it gives you a glimpse of what was to come from him in the future: what I'm tyring to say is that if it had not been for TSM, there would not be 'hable con ella' and 'Volver', the movies that you seem to like way more. TSM is darker, sadder, more melancholic than any of his previous movies and all those emotions are perfectly transmitted to the viewer. It is a test of endurance of how much more you can handle watching these women take, from Manuela losing her son, Rosa getting pregnant, infected with HIV and dying after childbirth...when you think you had seen enough, a new revelation, twist is thrown your way. Conventional models of male and female identity as well as motherhood and fatherhood are challenged beautifully in this movie. I do not see how the stereotypes you mentioned are reinforced in the movie: I think it actually destroys them by showing its characters as human beings, as they are in real life and not glamorized or tamed for the sake of pleasing the audience. There are no moral judgements made, no 'message', and that is why I think the character of Rosa's mother is so important: she represents the intolerance of mainstream society over what is seen as outrageous and immoral, the hypocrisy of self-righteous individuals, of those who 'don't get it'. Life in a big, metropolitan area is filled with situations like the ones portrayed in the movie, and Pedro has just raised our awareness of it. And he did it first in TSM than in 'Hable con ella' or 'Volver'.

[–] singinblues26 17 years ago

I have to agree with miguelvs in that I adore "Todo sobre mi madre". I am a huge fan of film and it is easily one of my tope 5 favorite films of all time. Maybe if you would have seen it before "Hable con ella" or "Volver" you would have a different opinion. It seems that the more Almodovar makes movies, the more mature they get "Hable con Ella" and "Volver" are some of Almodovar's more mature and brilliant work.

And Almodovar is all about these kinds of off beat characters with odd storylines because these are real people, people he knows in Madrid and Barcelona. Almodovar wants to tell real and honest stories about the lives of some interesting people. Structure means nothing to him ("Volver" has almost as much structure as "Todo sobre"), but I think that's what makes him great.

I completely understand how you could think lesser of "Todo sobre" after seeing his later work first and I'm sorry you got robbed of the experience of watching "Todo sobre" and being in awe of it after. Watch it some more, maybe it will grow on you. :)

[–] miksboyke 17 years ago

I don't think it's because he saw "Volver" or "Hable con Ella". First I saw Volver in the cinema. Because a spanish girl I know is a huge fan of his work, as for now is the same.

After I saw "Volver", I saw "Hable con ella" I like it to very much. Then I saw "La mala educación" wich I didn't like. And then "Todo sobre mi madre" wich I loved. I almost cried at the scene when Manuela told Nina and Huma what happened to her son. and the scene with Rosa (Penélope Cruz) saw her dog and her father.

so, I think it's a matter of taste.

[–] sergio_lv13 17 years ago

I think most people would agree that all or at least the recent Almodovar films all share a quality to them so I think it's a matter of taste, of which story you feel the most attracted to, which characters, settings, etc. I don't think it has to do with the fact that he saw this first and that second.

[–] mgrigorian 17 years ago

*....but to me, 'Todo sobre mi madre' (TSM) is Pedro's best.....*

Ditto

[–] stephie07 17 years ago

I haven't seen Talk to her yet, but i saw "Volver" and i just love iT! Penelope was perfecT! Yeah i like it more than All about my mother, but that doesn't mean this one is bad, its really good, really strong movie! very good story and great characters, a little melodramatic and different, but very gooD! poor penelope in the end! :P jeje

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] prplayer 8 years ago

Talk To Her is his best imo, this was also good

so many movies, so little time