All About My Mother (1999)
Dir: Pedro Almodóvar
Headed by a powerful clan of female actors, each portray a part of motherhood and womanhood, distinct from the traditional displays we have seen on the screen. The story begins with Manuela, a nurse in Madrid, dealing with the loss of her 17 year old son. Reading the note he wrote on the day he died, Manuela travels back to Barcelona, the past she had left behind for her son. All his life, Esteban, her son never knew about his father and in his last note, wrote how he felt a part of his life missing and had the right to learn about the identity of his father. To honour his last wish, Manuela goes to find the father and tell him about the son he never knew existed.
On going back, she meets her old friend, Agrado and learns how Lola, her son's father had stolen and ran away. Manuela's friendship with Rosa, a social worker who helps at risk individuals is based upon sisterly love and also the fact that Rosa is pregnant with Lola's child and also HIV positive. She takes care of her, provides her a home and also raises her son like her own when Rosa passes away at child birth. Manuela knows Lola, she was treated horribly by him and was well aware of his nature- absconding, selfish and irresponsible.
Esteban was killed while running in the rains to get the autograph of Huma, a famous actress essaying the role of Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire", but her car sped away. Manuela while working as an assistant to Huma, when questioned, blurts out about his accident to Huma, who is grief-stricken and comes to apologize to her.
The close sense of community between Agrado, who is now Huma's assistant, Huma, Manuela and Rosa is unique with each of them having different backgrounds and pain in their lives. Lola meets Manuela and informs about his looming death, and breaks down upon hearing the death of Esteban about whom he never knew. Manuela makes it possible for Lola to meet his baby, Esteban, Rosa's child and also shares with him her son's last note and photograph for keepsake. From my perspective, Manuela forgives Lola for whatever he did for both her sons.
The movie ends with a homage to all mothers, actresses who played mothers on screen and the mothers in real life. Manuela cared for Rosa selflessly, she had nothing to gain but she stood by her until her last breath. The loss of a child cannot be compensated but the birth of Esteban brough her back to life again. He had neutralized the virus in just 2 years and was now a subject of study and as she called it a miracle. Manuela had named her son as Esteban, after Lola's actual name, she did try to keep him connected to his father. No matter how much pain, she went through, yet kept his presence in her son's life.