The fact that the baby doesn't have anything wrong with it even though both his parents were HIV+. It just seems a bit to me that Almodovar wanted a happy happy ending....
"What are you, a lawyer?"
Are blowjobs vegan?
it's not the only time that the plot bends over backwards.
think about when they are driving rosa to the hospital, drop by the park on the way, and she happens to see her father there.
or how manuela sees one of many performances of 'street car', and when she goes backstage, nina happens to be leaving, setting her up to talk to huma, leading to everything else in the movie.
i'm not complaining, i think that all of almodovar's choices add up to a great movie. you just need to kind of take it all in as a whole - don't let one unsatisfying aspect get to you too much.
No, it's not unrealistic at all. Just because the mother has HIV doesn't automatically mean the baby will get it. Most babies get infected during labor, while Rosa avoided by getting the C-section. Also she probably took medicines to help prevent passing on her HIV. Plus, if the baby DID turn out to be infected, Manuela would lose all three Estebans in her life. It would ruin her whole healing process she goes through in the whole movie.
sharePrecisely. "All About My Mother" plays out like a weird Spanish soap opera/melodrama. What makes this film so brilliant is that within these somewhat absurd, heightened emotional constraints, the screenplay is engaging emotionally complete (everything falls wonderfully into place within the universe of the film).
Michael
Babies delivered by c sections like Rosa had are much less likely to contract HIV. It is very possible that young Esteban never contracted the disease to begin with.
shareSpoilers!!!
It's called artistic licence, Almodovar can do what he wants!
In terms of the baby's good health at the end of the movie, I think there's something more than a medical possibilty. If the baby had contracted aids, then what would become of hope? The film talks about hope, and manuela hangs on to it with all her strength, for she has lost so much. And with the death of something, there is a birth, which was something alluded to in Talk to Her i.e. from the ballet 'trenches' from the the death of a male soldier emerged his female spirit etc. I believe that babies are born pure into this world, free from their parents sins/excesses, and so the ending totally worked for me, and was a beautiful tribute to hope over loss.
I even got a sort of superhuman vibe from the baby's miraculous recovery at the end, and found it reminiscent of mothers and women in general, and their ability to triumph over adversity! The message I got was that mother's love can conquer anything, and rosa and manuela's maternal goodness could defeat lola's male excess. Well, perhaps!
Streetcar and All about eve are also used beautifully throughout the movie as tools to tell the story of Manuela. It all had to conveniently fall into place, otherwise there would have been a very meaningless passing reference to streetcar or all about eve, and would not have given the movie any depth. Instead we are given an amazing bunch of characters with their own stories....their own 'play within a play' or movie, which wrenches their heart out of it's comfortable place and makes it relive agonising despair, just like those of us women watching All about my mother! Brilliant technique!
The biggest compliment I could pay this movie is that Tennessee Williams would have loved it!
Its almost more realistic that the baby did not contract HIV. In this day and age there are precautions an HIV positive woman can take to protect her child, and c-section almost completely eliminates the risk. Just cause both parents have it doesnt mean anything.
shareThis is true. The ancillary antibodies (like frosting on a cake) can trigger the test. It does not mean the kid is "cake" (infected), but only quite close to a "cake" mama, who has the bugs, through and trough. Like a salty cake can make the frosting salty. But the bugs can stay OUT of the kid, while giving a temporary positive to the test. The kid CAN be normal after all, having no real bugs of his own, and only testing postive because of the proximity to the mama during birth. Sometimes it takes about two-three months for equilibrium to happen.
"When you throw dirt, you lose ground" --old proverbshare
I just saw this for the first time yesterday. Brilliant film, i have only seen two of his films and they have both been incredible.
I have to say that i really had the impression that he made it a 'perfect' almost cheesy ending on purpose. I haven't had enough time yet to mull it over or feel what the answer is, but I think it may have something to do with plays / films / actingm but not sure yet.
I am pretty sure the ending was made to feel like that intentionally.
I actually have a question about the ending which is not HIV-related. Maybe I was just unfocused while viewing the film but I can't see why the Lola guy gave the photo of Esteban to the actress (her name escapes me). I mean, they didn't exactly know each other, right??
/peace
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yes, you're probably right. esteban's death seems to have affected huma, so it makes sense
shareim sorry to go back to the hiv ending.well they did mention the baby having hiv and in the 2years it was rid of it.sometimes we just need a bit of reassurance that things can get better and work out in the end.
as the sun sets slowly in the west i bid you a fond farewell
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