ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

EVERY PEDRO ALMODOVAR film has become an event anticipated with relish. The Spanish writer-director makes films of pure pleasure where the colours seem more vivid, the emotions more intense and the stories are tales of great intricacy and beauty.

He is one of the leading artists in his field, but his work is always accessible and rewarding. ‘Volver’ is no exception as it pays tribute to the heroic, noble and long-suffering women who make the world go around.

The film is set in Almodovar’s native La Mancha, and takes its inspiration from a mixture of Hollywood melodramas of the 1940s and classic European cinema of the 1950s and 1960s.

Penelope Cruz plays Raimunda, a woman with the look of Sophia Loren in ‘Two Women’ (1961) and the life of Joan Crawford’s ‘Mildred Pierce’ (1945). She will do whatever it takes to provide a good home and build a better future for her teenage daughter, Sole (Lola Duenas).

The film begins when these two women return to Raimunda’s native village to visit her aged aunt. The aunt is ill and claims to be receiving visits from Raimunda’s mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), despite the fact that she had been dead for three years.

The truth of the matter is just one piece of a story that fits together like a jigsaw and contains everything from farce to romance and some serene reflections on the meaning of life.

A beguiling tale from start to finish, ‘Volver’ features an outstanding performance from Penelope Cruz, who seems so much more alive and accomplished when she works with Almodovar. European cinema really doesn’t get any better than this.

Selected nationwide release
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Stars: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana
Cobo, Chus Lampreave
Screenwriter: Pedro Almodovar
Certificate: 15
Running time: 121 mins
Country: Spain
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2006