The film
Manuela’s son, Esteban, is on the verge of manhood when he ‘s killed in a car crash. Manuela learns Esteban had yearned to know who his father was. She travels to Barcelona in search of her son’s father - and into the world of transvestite prostitution, the theatre, and drugs. Manuela befriends Rosa, a young nun, who’s pregnant - by Lola, the father of Esteban, who is now dying of AIDS. When Rosa dies in childbirth Manuela adopts her child. At the end of the film there is some redemption when we learn the baby has not inherited the virus, and they return to Barcelona to live with Rosa’s parents.
The director, Almodóvar, dedicated this film "To all actresses who have played actresses. To all women who act. To men who act and become women. To all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother."
What we thought
A film about tough lives, filled with love, pain and rejection. Some of us found it too stilted. Some thought it was heartening. On the first viewing, most of us missed the many visual and thematic references to other films – All about Eve, A Streetcar Named Desire, Opening Night.
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