Pedro Almodóvar is one of the greatest modern auteurs. His films weave elements of the supernatural into seemingly mundane events of daily life, creating aspects of the extraordinary out of thin air. Volver is no exception.
Raimunda (Penélope Cruz, in a blessed respite from Hollywood typecasting) is a Spanish woman who finds herself scrambling to cover up the accidental murder of her husband and hold her family together after the death of her beloved aunt. The return of her deceased mother in spiritual form (or is she?) adds to the melodrama.
Volver is a moving film about women who often seem to be teetering on the edge of sanity. While it sometimes dabbles in the popular Spanish form of telenovela, the honest performances by the women, notably Cruz and her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo, who gives a subtle, witty performance), ground Volver in Almodóvar's own version of reality.
Almodóvar uses the titular word "volver," Spanish for "to return," as a recurring motif, offering at each repetition the opportunity to examine the emotional progression of the film in the faces of his actresses and the palette of his compositions. The best use comes in the film's strongest scene, set at the bar Raimunda manages. As the film crew she has been feeding for weeks gathers around her, Raimunda sings a plaintive folk song for her daughter, a talent she has rarely exposed.
While the film lacks the shock value of some of Almodóvar's previous works like La Mala Educación (The Bad Education) and Hable con Ella (Talk to Her), Volver is hardly less moving. The Almodóvar touch, combined with a strong, powerful female cast, allows Volver to stand on equal footing with the auteur's strongest efforts.
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