Lester Mak

A rare occurrence on this site: a movie review of a non-Asian foreign language film. Embarrassingly, despite being a bit of an international movie buff, this is the first Pedro Almodóvar that I’ve seen, despite having Talk To Her sitting on my DVDs to watch pile for some time. But having now ticked one more off the box, Volver is a delightful movie, as I shall explain.

Volver
Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas
Dir: Pedro Almodóvar – 2006 – Spain

Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and her sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) have grown up apart but were brought back together following the death of their mother (Carmen Maura). When their aunt dies, rumours circulate that the ghost of their mother was roaming round the village and had visited their aunt. Meanwhile Raimunda has other issues to contend with, from a friend dying from cancer, to the death of her husband, after which she takes over a disused restaurant to make ends meet.

Almodóvar’s fantastic script is brought to life in this film by the cast. Cruz portrays the lead role of Raimunda beautifully, exposing the character’s personality. At the same time, Carmen Maura brought some Amelie-esque magic to the screen with some great comic timing. The movie comprises a wonderful cast, and it’s no surprise that the female ensemble cast won Best Actress at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

This is one of the best films I’ve seen this year. The script is simply brilliant with many plot twists that work very well together. Almodóvar’s use of some beautiful sets and costumes, together with some imaginative cinematography is an inspiration.

Overall, for my first outing into an Almodóvar film, I was very impressed and am looking forward to seeing more. One definitely to see.

8/10
 

Links
Official Site (includes trailer)
IMDb entry: Volver