Penelope Cruz is the nun who has a very special relationship with Manuela. The cinematography is especially lush, with bright colors emphasizing the garish nature of characters and situations. The setting of Madrid and Barcelona are captured with authority and Almodovar keeps everything moving at hectic pace, lacing the melodrama with character driven comedy. My Mother received the Academy Award as Best Foreign Film of 1999. My Mother has been made into an outstanding DVD, the rich textures of the film elements transfering beautifully to video.
Colors stand out cleanly with no edge bleeding.
This DVD has plenty of pizzazz to match the glitzy film treatment. Contrast range is dynamic, blacks lush with night scenes sparkling. Yellow English subtitles are easy to read and appear partially on the image and the letterboxed border. The Feature Archive has articles ranging from Akira Kurosawa to Blonde Bimbos and John Ford . Puttin on the Ritz Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse bring Silk Stockings to life, a remake of Ninotchka , one of many films successfully turned into musicals by the Hollywood dream factory.