Re: Volver
I think I’ve enjoyed every Pedro Almodovar movie I’ve seen, and Volver (”return”) continues that winning streak. Starring Penelope Cruz in an Oscar-nominated performance (but not likely to win against Academy favorite (and excellent actress) Helen Mirren, in my opinion) as Raimunda, an overworked, overstressed mother who rediscovers her mother and her daughter in a touching and funny story. Almodovar transports us between the sometimes harsh urban reality of Madrid where Raimunda struggles to pay the bills and deal with a deadbeat husband and the almost mystical village where the aunt who raised her lives.
Augustina is the blind and senile aunt’s next door neighbor who keeps an eye on her, aided, so she claims, but the ghost of Raimunda’s mother. An incessant wind keeps not only the giant windmills on the road between Madrid and the village turning, but is also a scapegoat for the apparent battiness of the residents of the village. It is also a metaphor for the cleansing change in Raimunda’s life that the movie portrays.
Raimunda’s sister, Sole, her dead mother Maura, and her daughter, Paula, round out the main characters who are all women. Almost all of the supporting characters are also female, like in most of Almodovar’s movies. I can’t say much more about the plot without revealing some essential points that are best discovered when seeing the movie. Suffice to say that this is a warm and touching movie with excellent acting and the deft touch of Pedro Almodovar.
February 12th, 2007 at 11:37 am
I wish you had mentioned the atmosphere, like how wonderful the 2 hour trip to Spain we took while watching this movie. Even the smells managed to get to our nostrils. I am also surprised that you did not mention how voluptuous is Peneloppe Cruz in this movie.