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“Volver”
Sony Pictures Classics
Jan. 26, 2007
*****
“Volver,” the latest film from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, is difficult to get a grip on until all the pieces are properly placed and put together on the table, which is why my gut reaction to this film was originally good, but not great. The film begins with a typical family cleaning off the gravestone of their mother, who had apparently died in a fire years earlier. The two sisters, Raimunda and Sole, along with Raimunda’s daughter, find out later that day from their aunt that their mother has been appearing to her as a ghost in a scene that is absolutely hilarious. Almodovar keeps the tone of the film light in the beginning, with little conflict or drama. That is, until the introduction of one of the few men in the film, Raimunda’s husband Paco.
The film is primarily a vehicle for the actresses, creating male characters who have little on-screen time and range from not likeable to downright despicable. Almodovar focuses on the struggles that these women go through during the course of their lives.
After introducing Raimunda’s boyfriend, the film begins to slowly descend from the happiness seen in the first 15 minutes, dealing with more serious and oftentimes atrocious actions both from the past and from the present. Almodovar rarely lets up and never fully gives in to the darker mood that most films would go for. This is where “Volver” fully achieves its greatness and allows the actors to take their skills to a completely different level.
Penelope Cruz is certainly worthy of all the praise for this role, including her Academy Award nomination. All of the other actresses deserve praise as well – namely, Carmen Maura, who plays Cruz’s mother in the film. These two characters in particular have a lot bottled up from the past that they have never been able to talk about, or even show in terms of emotion to any other character in the film. They are played low-key, whereas many other actresses would have attempted to take these roles over the top with lots of crying and screaming. Cruz and Maura never sink to those acting lows, not once betraying the characters and always keeping everything underneath the surface, not allowing it to rise to the top and show itself.
And that is one of the great things about “Volver”: it’s not about what is on the surface, but rather, what can be found if you scratch a little deeper. It’s also about how deep you want to scratch though. The humor keeps anything from becoming too obvious, always hiding that deeper emotion which is obviously lurking within the film. At first, this is bothersome. The film isn’t straightforward, as it teeters between comedy and drama, but always leans toward the funnier side of life, and never dwells on the awful moments that occur. These parts are mentioned then seemingly forgotten by the characters, but are always lingering in the back of your mind, like a painful memory that you rarely think about. Films can be so blatant in this day and age, beating audiences over the head with a hammer about how deep and terrible they truly are. “Volver” is that breath of fresh air you didn’t realize you inhaled until a day or so after. Then, reflecting back on it, you realize that was one damn fine breath you almost forgot about.
With audiences rushing out to see films from other Spanish-speaking filmmakers, hopefully Almodovar and “Volver” do not get lost in the shuffle.
Bangor Daily News