A mi madre le gustan las mujeres

Easy and good film, it's about love, not simply lesbian love: family love, male-female love, girl-girl love ... and sex? not at all (amusing film anyway). A well constructed comedy with a funny and beautiful Leonor Watling, great performance, without her the film will be less interesting, and the story is as I have said funny, see it and enjoy it.

this movie is funny. there are many elements for various plots. the characters are enjoyable as well. the story is cute. but, it lacked strength for a lesbian movie. the relationship between the mother and her young girlfriend seems very much similar to that of the relationship with her daughters. there was no chemistry and no intimacy beyond hugs. yet, the daughters are caught in deep, romantic kisses and the beginnings of sex scenes with men throughout the film. it's quite unfortunate to me that a movie with the main theme of a romantic relationship between 2 women does not have the strength to show that beyond hugs. i believe that censoring took away from the worth of the movie.

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")

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.

"My Mother Likes Women" is a subtitled Spanish comedy about what happens when a divorced middle aged Madrid mother introduces her three adult daughters to her new lover...a woman. Bemused at the mother's lesbian leanings the three daughters set about to cope with the situation which, of course, leads to a variety of contrived comic moments. Breezy, fun, bright, and well directed, this film is a showcase for Lenor Watling's worthy characterization of the middle daughter; the centerpiece of the film. "My Mother Likes Women" should appeal most to Watling fans, lesbians, females in general, and aficionados of Spanish cinema. Subtitle translations are below par. No nudity and should qualify for about a PG-13 rating for mature theme elements. (B)