Volver (To Return)

Grade: A-

I’ve always been on the fence about Pedro Almodóvar. My review of Bad Education called him “eminently and simultaneously feverish, quirky, daring, maddening, flamboyant, ecstatic, uneven, fearless, choppy, pretentious and thrilling.” When reviewing Talk to Her, I admitted “While I have enjoyed many of his films, I have also found many of his characters so multi-ambiguous, so not of this or any world I can believe in, that they are rather difficult to fully embrace.”

I’m no longer ambivalent. Se adoro Almodóvar.

In a stroke of unmitigated, outrageous genius, the film opens with scores of women lovingly and conscientiously ministering to…the tombstones of their loved ones. This uproarious stroke of bravado sets the stage for a mystically madcap melodrama of murder, death, disease, corpses, ghosts and, above all, familia. Few other directors could fill such a dark tale with such grace, laughter, pathos and lighter-than-air whimsy.

Am I the last to discover Penelope Cruz has so much charisma and gravitas? Usually made of cardboard delivering lines in English without recognition or soul, in her native tongue she is ablaze with fiery independence, dogged determination and steely vulnerability. As a woman trying to protect her child, mother her sister, provide for her family and keep family secrets hidden – while all the while a dead body turns to ice in her backroom industrial freezer – Cruz keeps it all in control while her heart palpitates barely beneath the surface.

Not a weak female in the bunch, three generations of women advise, defend, chide, support, judge, hug, depend on, and even haunt one another. Set against the backdrops of Madrid and La Mancha, tragedy fueled with humor, disbelief mixed with resilience, hardship peppered with vivaciousness and mysticism entwined with reality all seem the naturally unbalanced way of life. Replacing gender-bending with gender-appreciation this time around, Almodóvar revels in these women, who never shrink, shirk or otherwise retreat from the most outrageously colorful challenges, circumstances and responsibilities. As a stubbornly spirited spectral figure, Carmen Maura is a matriarch to be reckoned with, unwilling to depart this world until amends have been made, explanations have been proffered, her children have been healed and her life has been fully lived. Yohana Cobo has clearly inherited the family cojones as a teenager who responds to attempted sexual assault with a knife in the chest, and Lola Duenas is a comic delight as a rather melancholy and ever put-upon younger sister.

There is an ever-present sense of abundant joy in this tale of revenge and reconciliation. Some things are stumbled upon, much is uncovered, by the end all will be revealed, and Almodóvar appears almost as devoted to his wonderful cast of characters are they are to one another.

A kind-hearted, audacious, spirited and spiritual delight.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0441909/