Almodóvar’s
film, “All About My Mother” chronicles Manuela’s grief over the loss of her
son, Esteban. Throughout Manuela’s grieving process, there are several
instances of visual repetition. These repetitions are easily apparent and
highlight the changes occur from one scene to the next. Although Manuela and
her situation has developed or changed, the other visual elements in the scene
remain stagnant. Through these visual cues, it is clear that Manuela’s grief is
a personal tragedy. Though Manuela’s life drastically changes because of her
son’s death, her surrounding environment remains unchanged.
One of
the first instances of these repetitions occurs almost immediately after
Esteban’s death. Earlier in the film,
Manuela acts in a video educating doctors on how to speak with families of the
recently deceased about organ transplants. After Esteban’s death, Manuela plays
the same role in a similar scene, as two doctors talk to Manuela about the possibility
of donating Esteban’s organs to transplant patients. The scene is strikingly
similar visually, despite the emotion trauma that Manuela is now enduring. This
illustrates that Esteban's death does not have a significant impact outside of
Manuela. While Manuela’s coworkers may show sympathy, it does not change the
fact that Esteban’s organs are viable for transplants and can help others. Even
though she has personal relationships with the people working at the hospital,
Manuela is subjected to the same treatment all the other families receive. The
scene when Manuela goes to see the play again after Esteban dies is another
example of visual mirroring. The composition of the scene looks the same as when
Esteban was present, but the seat next to Manuela is empty. The stagnancy of
the rest of the scene shows that Manuela’s external environment is unchanged by
her son’s death. The tragedy that Manuela has endured equates to selling one
less ticket for the play, as it is not apparent to those outside of Manuela.
These strong
visual cues indicate a contrast between the immediately apparent and the truth.
The idea introduced through these repetitions continues as Manuela interacts
with other characters that do not know that her son has died. This illustrates Manuela’s
grief and attempt to overcome it as a personal struggle that leaves her
external environment largely unchanged.
I think that for Manuela the role reversal from the organ donation perspective lends a more powerful sentiment for the suffering of others. Manuela takes on the role of the griever; to me this tries to express the difference between sympathy that the doctors or Manuela herself are "supposed" to express and true empathy for the suffering of the other party. In the role of the griever she completely assumes the suffering which was unnecessary from the other perspective. In terms of kyra's argument I think that the constance of the external environment is reflective of the lack of empathy that there is for these individuals who are suffering. The world goes on, unchanged (quite literally) except for the individual who is suffering.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Morgan. A theme that I found persisting through the film in its entirety is how life goes on, regardless of the trials and tribulations some must face. When Manuela is thrust into assuming the role that she merely played before, she is forced to note the emotions someone in that situation would likely feel and also how others do not necessarily know how to approach the situation. By her external environment not changing, she experiences the lack of empathy people truly have for situations like hers. I do think it gives Manuela perspective to understand the sufferings of the other mothers in the film, and learn to help them in ways she can when no one was there to help her.
ReplyDeleteKyra makes a very interesting argument. I think it's also very interesting to note that by the end of the movie, Manuela's life has essentially completed a circle. When she was pregnant with her son, she fled from Barcelona to Madrid, and she repeats the same journey with Lola and Rosa's child. I think that this indicates a kind of rebirth for Manuela and shows that life goes on, but that people essentially remain the same and can not escape from the track that their life started them on. No matter what she does, Manuela always has an Esteban in her life, whether it be her husband, her son, or the Rosa's son.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with the above posters, an alternate way to look at her life is second chances. Where Manuela started with a passion for drama and left it to go with the first Esteban, she was offered a second chance at the theater. Where she was displeased with the first Esteban, and lost the second to a car accident, she got yet another chance with Rosa's son. The unchanging nature of the world just goes to show that one can be happy whenever they choose to be. It is the person that holds themselves back.
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