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Director: Pedro Almodovar

Rating: 8.5/10

There is a vein of dark humour that runs in all of Almodovar’s films. Volver is no exception. Though Almodovar simplifies his narrative, he still layers it with his usual repertoire of wit, sensitivity and not to mention- an obsession with women. Penelope Cruz excels under her mentor’s directing again (after All About My Mother). This is by far her best performance to date and long expected one.

The plot revolves Raimunda (Penelope Cruz), her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) and Raimunda’s sister Sole (Lola Duenas). Raimunda lives with Paco, the two have a very cold relationship. The events lead upto Paula killing her father after he tries to make moves on her. The film uses converging parallel narratives of Raimunda and Paula trying to get rid of the body while trying to re-build their lives and that of Sole being visited by her dead mother. There is also the story of Augustina, whose mother left her 4 years before and she hopes to find out what happened to her. All this leads to a powerful, emotional and revealing conclusion that is definitely Almodovar’s.

One of the problems I had with this film was it’s pace- the film meanders a bit here and there. But over all, the acting, the directing and the script holds you by the balls (and thats the sign of a good film). Cruz is divine. I am rooting for her to win the best actress Oscar this year. The cinematography by Jose Luis Alcaine and editing by Jose Salcedo is good, but then again, this is a director’s film. the music by Alberto Iglesias is forgettable, but the song Volver, sung by Penelope Cruz stays in your mind.

On Almadovar
There are very few directors who capture women on screen as well as Almodovar (Wong Kar Wai is the best for me). The way he frames the actors and the way he nurtures the characters in a film is quite intriguing. He is an auteur beyond compare and arguably one of the best directors alive. But what makes his films tick? As I mentioned before, there is always the dark humour, but I feel the reason why his films stand out is because he is a humanist. He cares about his characters and he cares about what they represent. Almodovar talks not about death in this film but about the “rich culture surrounding death”. Discussing philosophy in a simple narrative is Almodovar’s gift.

On Cruz
Cruz is beautifull, Cruz is divine and with this film she shows she is a great actress too. Her range and depth is used exceptionally well here. I liked her in Vanilla Sky but I loved her here. The screen oozes with her presence and her energy. She brings a poignancy and believability to the role of Raimunda. Penelope Cruz succeeds in making us care for her character. This is not method acting; for this to happen you need a screen presence and charisma that only true stars can bring to a film. Cruz is…(I better stop).

Though a film that I thoroughly enjoyed, it is not without problems. There is the occasional drift into melodrama and the ending that leaves a few too many questions unanswered. But overall I was won over by Penelope Cruz’s performance of a lifetime and Almodovar’s great direction. As artists, the mentor and the apprentice seems to have reached a level where both are now peers.

(p.s. I saw it on pirated DVDs. Take that Indian Police.)

Review by: bApHoMEt

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 5th, 2007 at 8:19 pm and is filed under General, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.