Volver

Posted by Maggie Van Ostrand (maggie@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 19, 2007

If Penelope Cruz hadn’t been up against Helen Mirren for an Academy Award, she probably would have won. Cruz, the first Spanish actress ever to be nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Actress, was nominated no fewer than 26 times for awards worldwide, and won 16 of them for her performance in Volver. She’s not only gorgeous and sexy, but a much better actress than she had a chance to show us in previous films.

The Volver 2-disc DVD has excellent Special Features, such as narration by Cruz and writer-director Pedro Almodovar, interviews with both and with Carmen Maura (who plays Cruz’s mother), the Cannes Film Festival 2006, and a behind-the-scenes documentary which, though with music and without dialog, is very interesting because it eschews a lot of jargon and lets you see for yourself just how scenes were shot. Of particular interest is how they did the opening shot of women cleaning gravestones in a Spanish cemetery.

Volver has a peculiar plot with many characters but the brilliance of director Almodovar prevents it from becoming too confusing.

Cruz’s character, Raimunda, lives with her husband Paco and teen daughter Paula. Things come to a head when Paco loses his job and gets drunk. No spoilers for you here, you’ll have to buy or rent the movie to find out the traumatic event that’s the basis of the plot.

Raimunda and her sister, Sole, who works illegally at home as a hairstylist, lost their parents in a fire some years back. Their Aunt Paula lives nearby and still speaks about her dead sister (Raimunda and Sole’s mother), except she speaks of her as though she’s still alive.

Aside from the plot twists, a smattering of mystery and suspense, and Cruz’s delightful singing in a restaurant Raimunda has taken over during the temporary absence of the owner, the photography (Jose Luis Arcaine), editing (Jose Salcedo), and musical score (Alberto Iglesias) are exemplary. The vivid colors of Spain photographed by Arcaine are a treat for the eyes.

It’s easy to see why Penelope Cruz is frequently referred to as the Spanish Enchantress. Volver shows you how she got that name.

Spanish with English subtitles.

Read more articles by Maggie Van Ostrand