CMFH Film Reviews

2006, Spain
Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Review by Deborah Dearth

A little death never killed anyone. Well, at least not when that person has to attend to unfinished business. After a woman passes away in a remote Spanish village that celebrates death as much as life, rumors of spectral sightings begin to circulate. As her family reunites, she must resolve the problems of the past.

Pedro Almodóvar (Bad Education) proves himself yet again as a master storyteller. There is nothing sparse in his delivery; each detail is complicated, each character has enough of a backstory to support an entire movie unto itself. These dark histories are revealed subtly, carefully hidden beneath a light and comedic world.

As with most of his film characters, the women of Volver are more than they appear and have come a long way from horrendous beginnings. When his characters are joyful, it is only at the end of a long road of suffering, often traveled upon with slimy men. The characters have turned their lives around or overcome a great obstacle, overpaying their dues in return for a moment of happiness.

That is not to say this film is depressing. Almodóvar has invited us into a world of rich heritage, delightful comedy and women we wish to know better. He has proven repeatedly that he loves his female characters, and holds them up as battered -- but not broken -- angels in a world of ravishing men. Muse Penélope Cruz (All About My Mother, Live Flesh) is displayed in all of her voluptuous glory, though in contrast with American directors who have used her primarily for her beauty, Almodóvar allows her sex appeal to be detrimental to her character’s fate. His script allows Cruz to prove that she is much more than a bombshell, but rather that she is quite capable of a range of dramatics.

And she is not alone. Cruz is surrounded by talented actresses able to slip in great laughs with big hearts. Lola Dueñas (The Sea Inside, Almodóvar’s Talk to Her) is charming as the sister scared of death but first visited by the departed mother. Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Matador and Pepi, Luci, Bom) is an Almodóvar classic, portraying the ghostly mother who slips in sympathy for a troubled life while creating laughs from confusion. Almodóvar has repeatedly delighted in the skills of these talented women, and they are never the same girl twice.

Though in this story there is a bit of facsimile from one generation to the next. As truths are buried and tales of misfortune never spoken, history is doomed to repeat itself as each daughter replicates her mother’s past. Men are the root of all troubles and rarely present, and even at a funeral they are cordoned away from the women who are swarming and buzzing like nervous black flies. As the flies assist in the decomposition of a rotten past, a new beginning is allowed to build over the remnants.

With a dark past and a bright future, Almodóvar surrounds his characters with a musical carnival by faithful composer Alberto Iglesias, which is in turns inviting and mysterious. Coupled with a brilliant story and a capable cast, Almodóvar succeeds in creating a film that will surely endure. And we can only hope that in his case, history will continue to repeat itself.