Matthew B
Within Volver is the material for two highly charged films – a Hitchcockian thriller about murder, complete with an oversized knife as the murder weapon, and a melodramatic ghost story about a mother returning from the dead to complete unfinished business with her two daughters.
That is not the impression that the film leaves us with however. As a filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar is not always known for his restraint, but Volver is strangely muted. Sex barely features in the film at all. The film is still brightly-coloured, but the focus on red seems appropriate in a film about blood, love and murder.
There is less of the obtuse morality that often marks Almodovar's movies, though admittedly three murders occur, and we are encouraged to hope that they go unpunished. In an earlier film, What Have I Done to Deserve This?, a mother has no hesitation in allowing her 12-year-old son to live with an older man in order to pay for dental treatment. In Volver, a paedophile is killed, and no sympathy is expressed for him. On this occasion, Almodovar's morality is almost conventional.
In a diary that Almodovar wrote for Volver, he said that the film is about death, and the way that the women in the La Mancha region deal with the culture of death. I say women because the men in this community die young, so the film's focus is on the women left behind. Death does feature strongly in the film. An old woman dies; a man is murdered; a neighbour is dying; a woman who is thought to be dead reappears with information concerning two other murders.
This might make Volver sound like a depressing film, but that is not the case. It is a film as much about life as it is about death. The women in Volver take death in its stride. We see this in the opening scene set in a graveyard. Here there are no tearstained women delivering elegies over the tombstones of their dead. On the contrary, they are hard at work scrubbing the stones to make them look presentable.
The movie's two heroines are Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Dueñas). These two sisters have to deal with unusual situations concerning death, but they handle them by behaving in a brisk and business-like manner. There are no breakdowns or hysterics – a quick scream at best, after which they settle down and find prosaic solutions to the problems they face.
This is not a film in which women are catty or vicious to one another. We see here the best in women, and their capacity to form close bonds. There is a lot of kissing in the film, and it is mostly between women. There is no need for a romantic plot in this film, as the women are self-sufficient, and do not need a man to complete them.
The two sisters may squabble, but they look out for one another. Raimunda goes to great lengths to protect her daughter. Sole and Irene care for each other.
The plot concerns the notion of returning. The very word Volver means ‘to return', and it is the subject of a song that Raimunda sings. The words of the song are about the need to stay hopeful amidst disillusion. One of the recurring images in Volver is that of the local windmills rotating.
Volver achieved great box office success and widespread acclaim. Cruz became the first Spanish woman to be nominated for an Oscar, and many critics consider it to be Almodovar's best film. After Almodovar's early vulgar, brassy and lively comedies, films such as Volver, Talk to Her and All About My Mother showed a new maturity. For the first time, Almodovar was able to combine his mixture of soap opera, Grand Guignol, and camp and kitsch humour into a new form that touched on deeper and more universal issues.
I wrote a longer appreciation of Volver on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/volver-2006/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/26/23
Full Review
Carlos H
With each new film I watch, I fall more in love with Almodovar's cinema. In "Volver", I would say, there are three main reasons for this: the direction, the script and the cast, with absolute emphasis on the excellent Penélope Cruz (I was mesmerized by her talent and beauty during the film). What surprises me most about Almodovar is his ability to tell stories of ordinary people so well, with relationships that could be ours. I also like the fact that he always brings historical or local context to his films. Volver has become one of my favorites of his. I will certainly watch again.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/27/23
Full Review
Dave S
The premise of Pedro Almodovar's Volver sounds absolutely preposterous – sisters Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Duenas) are forced to come to terms with the fact that their mother Irene (Carmen Maura) has seemingly returned from the grave to provide assistance to those in need. Throw in the bloody killing of Raimunda's husband as the result of him sexually assaulting her daughter and the subsequent hiding of his body in the freezer of a neighboring restaurant, it all sounds a bit silly. Somehow, Almodovar, as he always does, makes it work. How? It's cleverly plotted with some nifty twists, it is as visually vibrant as anything he has done, the characters all have great depth, and the acting is superb throughout. Granted, there are some minor threads of plot that just blow in the wind, but overall it is another winner from the Spanish master.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
10/16/23
Full Review
Matt J
Flawless - that's all!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/15/22
Full Review
rosie v
I watched this movie 10 times already over the years, and each time I discover awesome new details.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
isla s
This is a typical Almodovar film - involving death, very domestic based, with quirky characters/plot twists and some dark comedy. There's a farcical element to it too. As ever, it features Penelope Cruz as the main character. I like the ambitious 'taking no nonsense' nature of the female characters he writes/directs. This film features Penelope singing a little bit, so that may appeal to you, if your a fan of hers and your yet to see this film. Yes, I'd recommend the film.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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