New reviews are superfluous to this, a perfect film by an accomplished film maker that's won wide acclaim and an Oscar.Suffice to say that this is Almodovar's "ET" or "The Birds" - the synergy of his creativity, heart and intellect that's realised with intoxicating visual and aural flair.
When Manuela's (played by the spunky Cecilia Roth) son dies, she returns to Barcelona, the city of his conception, to introduce his memory to the father she never allowed him to meet.
There, she reunites with an old friend Agrado, a multi-talented tranny who works the streets, and, unexpectedly, the cast of a touring production of "A Streetcar Named Desire".
Almodovar's hold over his subject is focussed like a laser beam. Perfectly prismic, every element of the movie ("All About Eve", "A Streetcar Named Desire", motherhood, male-to-female transvestism) complements it's central theme of women (and men) playing women.
The humour of Almodovar's previous films is here, but restrained: it plays second fiddle to the movie's bursting big heart.The movie is a heartfelt ode to mothers, including fictional and figurative ones like Margot Channing and Blanche duBois, and we feel its every kiss, cuddle and tear.
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