Review of Volver (2006) by Miguel R — 12 Jul 2015

I do find elements of this delightful Spanish a little confusing. I'm not sure whether this is something lost in translation or I just missed something as the subtitles whizzed by but there do seem to be one or two rather jarring edits where, for me, some scenes needed a bit more explanation.

The story sees Penelope Cuz and her sister coping with the death of their aunt. She has been looked after by a friendly neighbour and also by her supposedly deceased sister who has been hiding in her home.

Cruz has her own issues when she returns home one evening to find her husband has been stabbed to death by her daughter. In a gruesome but typically Spanish manner, Cruz hides him in an old freezer in a neighbour's abandoned restaurant.

In order to raise some badly needed cash, Cruz goes into partnership with a local prostitute and opens the restaurant in order to feed a local film company. It is certainly a convoluted and unbelievable plot but the strength of this movie is the relationships between the female characters.

Pedro Almodóvar is particularly good at depicting the lives and emotional bonds between women which makes his movies refreshing to watch. The characters are completely engaging and all of the key actresses give superb, thoughtful performances.

I've yet to find a Spanish comedy that actually delivers belly laughs but Volver, as a gentle, poignant observation of female relationships is witty and charming.