A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (2002) Reviews

• A Lighter Touch Than Almodovar: Leonor Watling Steals the Scenes!

  lawprof2004-05-31

  "My Mother Likes Women" is the story of a divorced Madrid concert pianist, Sofia (Rosa Maria Sarda), who stuns her three daughters with the announcement that she has a female live-in lover, a pianist twenty or more years her junior, Eliska (Eliska Sirova). Eliska is a talented Czech studying with Sofia. The two are clearly in love. Sofia's daughters, alternating between trying to accept mom's relationship and being aghast at her taking up with a young woman - or ANY woman - are a handful. The oldest, Gimena (Maria Pujalte), is in a deteriorating marriage which she stays in for the sake of her young son. The youngest, Sol (Sylvia Abascal), is a sharp-tongued rock singer with multi-hued long hair. Most interesting - and really the center of directors Daniela Fejerman and Ines Paris's comedy/drama - is the middle daughter, Elvira, played with extraordinary range and zest by Leonor Watling. The daughters concoct a harebrained scheme to break up their mother's relationship and send Eliska packing. The plan has only two serious flaws: conception and execution. The intended resolution falls prey to pratfalls and comedic miscalculations. At least for a while. There really are two stories here, Sofia and her lover and the trio's interaction with them and the saga of screwball Elvira, an employee at a publishing house, who always manages to mess up and ruin any promising relationship. Deep in therapy with a somewhat seedy psychologist, she's trying to figure out why all her self-fulfilling prophecies of doom invariably come to dreadful fruition. Complicating her life is her growing attraction to established (and very handsome) author Miguel (Chisco Amado) who's both drawn to the very beautiful Elvira and sent running off scared by her flighty, immature behavior. Leonor Watling is terrific as a neurotic in full bloom. Her insight into her very counter-productive behavior grows believably as the story unfolds. Watling has that special ability to telegraph her emotions in effective and often captivating split-second shots - she reminds me very much of the better known French actress Audrey Tautou. All the cast members are excellent but Watling steals this film. There are some nice scenes of Prague and piano pieces by Bach, Schubert and Beethoven add to the aural attractiveness of the film. Almodovar would have made these women more introspective and, surely, both bitingly cynical and more neurotic. Painfully neurotic. These women are too nice for the typical Almodovar flick. "My Mother Likes Women" presents complex characters in an appealing, not overly analyzed light. Simply very enjoyable. 8/10

• You can do it -- Mama is gonna see to it!

  livewire-62004-08-29

  Sofia is the loving mother of three daughters, a concert pianist, and a lesbian -- in that order. Her recent discovery of her lesbian sexuality, and her relationship with Eliska, an illegal alien from the Czech Republic, is almost incidental to the film. It is certainly presented in a very matter-of-fact way, taken for granted as entirely natural and acceptable. It is not milked for titillation or homophobic humor. In fact, despite this movie's title and marketing, the fact that Sofia likes women is merely the plot device that sets things in motion and drives the action of the film. (It is also the subject of the very catchy and bouncy title song.) The real message here is that Sofia is totally in charge of every facet of her life -- something her three daughters emphatically are not. This is especially true of the middle daughter, Elvira. She is the heroine of "My Mother Likes Women". Where Sofia is a creative artist, Elvira doubts her ability and keeps her first novel hidden in a drawer. Where Sofia is a passionate lover, Elvira screws up every relationship with a man, including her shrink. By the end, however, Elvira learns to stand up for herself and go after what she wants in life -- and the audience stands up and cheers.

• Spanish witty flavor

  torana2003-07-05

  This is a comedy that is best flavored in its original language. Subtitles do not give full credit to the Spanish clever dialog. This is a movie for everyone. Who would not go crazy if your mother do something assumed drastic and unexpected? The reactions of Sofia's daughters when encountered with her mother's new love are funny, then dramatic but finally leveled at the end. I laughted most of the film and the mixed audience at the theater was laughing loud too. I liked the film because it is original and funny. The acting of Leonor Watling is superb. Leonor plays Elvira, the middle daughter of Sofia. Elvira has a bag of insecurities but her sensibility is more keen than that of her sisters. She will join Sol and Gimena, her sisters, in plotting to ruin their mothers love affair with Eliska. Eliska is a talented foreign pianist about the age of Elvira. The unexpected situations created are well presented in the film. This is a wonderful comedy.

• Witty, Funny and Highly Entertaining

  claudio_carvalho2012-12-12

  In Madrid, the divorced middle-age pianist Sofía (Rosa Maria Sardà) discloses to her daughters Elvira (Leonor Watling), Gimena (María Pujalte) and Sol (Silvia Abascal) on the day of her birthday that she is in love with the talented Czechoslovak pianist Aliska (Eliska Sirová), who is twenty-years younger than she. The bigoted sisters are shocked with the revelation and do not accept the idea that their mother is lesbian. Elvira is an insecure and neurotic young aspirant writer that has a lousy job in a publishing house; Sol is the singer of a rock band; and Gimena is married with a boy and has a troubled marriage with Raúl. When they discover that her mother has lent all her savings to support the education of Aliska, they decide to seduce the girlfriend to make her leave their mother. But when Aliska returns to her country alone and their mother is very depressed, they need to try to revert the situation. Meanwhile the nervous Elvira meets the writer Miguel (Chisco Amado) and has a clumsy relationship with him. "A Mi Madre le Gustan las Mujeres" is a witty, funny and highly entertaining comedy with a delightful story of prejudice against sexual preference. The unknown (in Brazil) Leonor Watling is simply fantastic in the role of an unstable end neurotic young woman. There are memorable scenes, like Sol singing her song dedicated to her mother in a rock'n'roll concert; or Elvira having lunch with her boss and Miguel; or the groom kissing the bride in the wedding. In the end, I laughed a lot with this light-hearted dramatic comedy. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Minha Mãe Gosta de Mulher" ("My Mother Likes Woman")

• Amusing, but artificial and unrealistic

  jrgirones2002-05-20

  Leonor Watling shows her great talent for the comedy genre in this amusing, weel-made film which fails in portraying the central conflict. The lesbian relationship between the mother's character (Rosa Maria Sarda, wonderful as always)and her lover is totally unbelievable and artificial - they don't even kiss each other during the whole film! - and that affects the credibility of it all. You'll sure have a good time, but it's a real pity that the directors didn't hold the central subject with more bravery than that.