Mother and son, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) and Esteban (Eloy
Azorín), have quite a close relationship. Manuela raised him alone, and for his
17th birthday they go to see ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, which is
how she met Esteban’s father. He is excited about getting the autograph of one
of the actresses but when he chases her he is hit by a car and dies, leaving
Manuela heartbroken. She goes off in search of Esteban’s father, Lola (Toni
Cantó), and in her search she develops great friendships and has a chance with
another son.
To start with I was a tad uncomfortable with the
relationship between Mother and son. It
just seemed a little off to me. She gave him a photo of her when she was
younger and he was stroking it. Which made sense after watching the rest of the
film (he was stroking the side because she had ripped his Father out of the
photo) but I wasn’t to know that at the time. And he’s always staring at her in
a strange way. I obviously read too much into it because nothing happened with
that potential storyline. Not important!
Manuela and Rosa (Penélope Cruz) seem to become instant
friends. I’m not really sure how it happened quite so fast but I loved it all
the same. Manuela helps Rosa with her difficult pregnancy and Rosa
helps Manuela with her grief as she has something to focus on besides her
absent son. My favourite scene might be the one where Manuela, Rosa, Agrado
(Antonia San Juan) and Huma (Marisa Paredes) are drinking and joking together. It’s as
if they can all forget about their own separate problems for a little while and
can just enjoy being with each other (dingdingding, this is definitely my
favourite thing, pretty sure I mention it in every blog).
Manuela seems so strong despite her grief and the difficulty
she must’ve had raising Esteban alone. She is there for Rosa when her Mother
cannot be, she helps Huma through her difficult relationship, and she helps
Agrado find work outside of prostitution. Although Manuela is clearly a champ,
I think Agrado is my favourite (if I’m forced to choose). The first we see of
her is when she’s being beaten up but she rallies and is happy to see her
friend again. She is so honest and funny and I just love that.
“You are more authentic the more you resemble what you’ve
dreamed of being.”
8/10
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