Review of To Return (1982) by Mirko B — 05 Nov 2008
Ay caramba, los tetes de Raimunda! I totally liked this film, Almodovar always manages to amaze me. I've been to Spain this summer and I tried to look for his motifs there, and it was all over the place.
Those captivating, complex women with their secrets and passions. This is exactly how the women of Volver were portrayed by Almodovar. He is merciful to women, he invented Penelope Cruz as the Spanish Sofia Loren.
Funny enough, men usually end up biting the bullet in Almodovar's films; they're either portrayed as rapists and alcoholics or pathetic drag-queens. Cruz once again confirmed the status to which Almodovar elevated her, providing a showstopping performance as Raimunda, the stressed housewife who has to cope with the difficulties of life, one of them being how to get rid of your dead husband's corpse.
Carmen Maura's performance as the mother was emotional and full of silent suffering. The way how those people acknowledge and accept supernatural phenomena (like the ghost of your mother appearing every now and then) was very entertaining.
The women in "Volver" are fighters who don't take humiliation and adultery as something understood and who react to life and influence it as much as they can. It's something to be admired.
This review of To Return (1982) was written by Mirko B on 05 Nov 2008.
To Return has generally received very positive reviews.
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