everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

I'm sure Sigmund Freund would have liked this story: Mothers and wives die one by one to give room for a new 'perfect' family. And what is the newborn Nastasja ? The one needed to give birth for the next round.

Penélope Cruz and Julio Medem really got a home-run with this movie.This is an absolute masterpiece depicting the raw struggle of a mother fighting cancer and all the emotions that accompany such a dire journey. Ma ma really captures the essence of Spanish caring culture, something I feel grateful to have experienced in my time living in Spain. If for any unfathomable reason you haven't seen Ma ma yet, I will not spoil the plot be saying more. If you're doubting about watching this movie, unless you hate great camera-work and an exceptional plot, I fully recommend watching it.

As a kid, i was terrified by vampire, haunted mansion movies, every dark forces taking up homes and families! As an adult, i can be still as much scared by movies but now they deal with illness. I'm more than half deaf, very fragile, prone to stupid accidents so as a hypochondriac, i stay away for all those medical, ER movies ! I have already skip the one with Hilary and Emmy and i really hesitated to go with this one ! But i follow Pené's career for almost 20 years now and as she is a dedicated, authentic, strong, caring woman, i go along nevertheless but it was really hard… In fact, i watched it in two times and you'll figure easily the moment i stopped the 1st time. Since she is a real mother, she has discovered a new field for expression and she has never been so moving than here ! That's really the branch i grasped all along the movie, watching her smile, hug, be active… In addition, this movie taught me one thing too : Her husband prays in front of a crucifix hanged in their bedroom wall. From now, i can do the same with the picture i put over a push button because i never got the idea to do it before! Gracias Pené but Por Favor, just 1 movie like this and no more !!

Greetings again from the darkness. It's usually easy to bash the movies that go heavy on sentimentality. It's possible that even Steve Goodman would agree that this latest from writer/director Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia, 2000) could be the outline for a perfect country song: Mama's husband leaves her for a younger woman/student; Mama loses her teaching job; Mama gets breast cancer; Mama's new friend experiences a life tragedy; Mama and her new friend fall in love; Mama gets more bad news; Mama gets some good and unexpected news; things don't end well for Mama. Mix in a train, a truck and prison, and there would be no argument.Penelope Cruz produces and stars as Magda, the titular Ma Ma whose singing gynecologist breaks the news that her breast cancer will require chemotherapy followed by a mastectomy. What follows could be called a whirlwind of tragedies involving Magda, her son Dani (Teo Plannel) and the soccer scout Arturo (Luis Tosar) and the aforementioned doctor (Asier Etxeandia).The fine performance of Penelope Cruz keeps the film moving through the first two acts, and she is just so darn likable that we find ourselves really pulling for her. The strength and spirit of this woman has a positive influence on all who come in contact with her. She has an odd impact on the doctor who is clearly attracted to her, and they share a most awkward and unnecessary running dialogue about a young Siberian girl that he and his wife are considering adopting.The third act quite simply pushes the film over-the-top, as it goes beyond sentimentality and into pure Lifetime channel mush. The film is probably a bit too slick and stylized, given the real struggles of battling cancer; however, the point of female strength is not lost … though the "save the nipple" and "the soul doesn't die" discussions deliver a few eye rolls.