Almodovar's most praised film to date, All About My Mother is a rich and skillfully crafted narrative that relies on plausible coincidence and palpable melodrama that has you on the brink of tears at the human tragedies one minute, then lifts you to comic relief in the nick of time the next. After Manuela's 18-year-old son is killed in an accident, she decides to go to Barcelona in search of his father Esteban, who never even knew he had a son and has become Lola. In the world of transvestite prostitutes, Manuela meets up with some of Lola's old friends and makes some new ones herself. Superb performances from the women live up to Almodovar's trademark as he celebrates female strengths in the face of adversity and pays tribute to the mother in particular. Sexuality and gender blur in this epic of human emotions and relationships between a bereaved mother, a lapsed pregnant nun, a transsexual prostitute and an acting legend - all of whom pull together to nurture a grain of hope in the seemingly hopeless depths of despair. The fast-talking, charismatic L'Agrado literally steals the show with her spontaneous, witty soliloquy on how 'authentic' a woman she is. Following his reputation for portraying characters who live beyond the boundaries of what society defines as 'normal', Almodovar emulates them to the status of Hollywood superstars, with nods to greats such as All About Eve and A Streetcar Named Desire.