Review of To Return (1982) by Mei Li L — 19 Jun 2012

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, this is a drama that manages to be simultaneously dark and light at the same time, it's plot came from a story that originated in Almodovar's The Flower of My Secret (1995), and it's look and tone was heavily inspired by the films of Federico Fellini, and it has a touch of Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and The Trouble With Harry (1955) about it.

Sisters Raimunda (Penà (C)lope Cruz) and Soledad (Lola Dueñas) return to the village where they grew up in La Mancha to tend to their parents grave, while they visit their elderly Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave), Paula's cancer stricken neighbour Agustina (Blanca Portillo) claims to Raimunda and Soledad that she saw Paula talk to an apparition of their deceased mother mother Irene (Carmen Maura).

Meanwhile Raimunda's husband Paco (Antonio de la Torre) tries to rape their daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo), the younger Paula stabs him in self defence, killing him. Raimunda hides the body in the freezer an unused restaurant next door, however, a film company asks Raimunda if she can cater for them.

Then, the apparition of Irene appears to Raimunda, as if she didn't have enough on her mind. It's a complex but very engaging drama, with a strong female cast led by Cruz, who got an Oscar nomination for this.

It's a film about death, but it shows different kinds of death and how people react and come to terms with death, before and after.