(Dis)locating Spain: Performance Intertextualities in Pedro Almodóvar’s Todo sobre mi madre

Abstract

Almodóvar's unique status within Spanish, European and world cinema(s) issues a methodological challenge to existing taxonomies. Building upon Tim Bergfelder's distinction between reputedly "open" Hollywood films and "culturally specific" European fare, this article focuses on the production and reception of Todo sobre mi madre/All about my Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999). Numerous critics have pinpointed interextual references but have assumed that the Spanish filmmaker draws upon "universal" texts to make a "culturally specific" vision legible for international audiences. The binaries on which such a model is predicated do not withstand close cinematic or socio-historical scrutiny. Todo sobre mi madre conveys distinct meanings in Spain as opposed to in the international arena; this is not exclusively, or even necessarily predominantly, the result of autochthonous reference points, but also due to the contingencies of reception when Hollywood films are translated out of their domestic habitat. Tracing some of these journeys and identifying various interpretive communities will not only develop understanding of Almodóvar's craft and commercial success, but also help to contextualise and potentially reconcile some of the frequently embittered battles between Spanish and Anglo-American critics over the right to define and describe his cinematic output.