VOLVER
Watching VOLVER, I was never quite sure where the film was taking me. Going into it I was anticipating a comedic film dealing with the return of a dead mother, back to set her daughter's lives straight. Turns out the impression reviews had left me with was only the most simplistic explanation possible for what turns out to be one of the years most delightfully twisted plots.
Pedro Almodovar has always been a man in love with female beauty, but VOLVER should probably be considered his greatest homage to the female. The film is almost vulgar at times in its pursuit of capturing it's leading star's radiance, with camera angles shooting down necklines. However, Penelope Cruz's incredible performance roots the film with a dignity that overpowers any crude camera angle Almodovar could dream up. A rather stilted actress in English, Penelope Cruz offers a stunning performance here, in which her emotions bubble over through her gorgeously full yet mysteriously dark eyes.
Cruz plays Raimunda, a young mother who has left the village she grew up in in favor of the city. Both Raimunda and her sister Sole (played by Lola Dueñas) return home at the start of the film to visit the town they grew up in, and when there they hear rumors that their dead mother's ghost has returned to care for their dying aunt. As time goes by, the women discover that this rumor might in fact be rooted in some truth. When their mother (Carmen Maura) appears to her children, secrets from the past are revealed that will shed incredible light on what makes these women who they are. The work between the ensemble is a joy to watch, yet Cruz remains front and center in a star-revitalizing performance fully deserving all the critical and award attention she has received this year.
VOLVER leaps between comedy and tragedy more then once in it's two hour running time... but isn't that essentially how life works? Though the film becomes a bit too far fetched at times in terms of the dramatics that go on around it, Almodovar makes it work. VOLVER is a modern day version of the great Greek tragedies. I would never want to live the lives of these characters, but to watch their lives and troubles unfold certainly makes for a compelling movie.
... B+ ...
Watching VOLVER, I was never quite sure where the film was taking me. Going into it I was anticipating a comedic film dealing with the return of a dead mother, back to set her daughter's lives straight. Turns out the impression reviews had left me with was only the most simplistic explanation possible for what turns out to be one of the years most delightfully twisted plots.
Pedro Almodovar has always been a man in love with female beauty, but VOLVER should probably be considered his greatest homage to the female. The film is almost vulgar at times in its pursuit of capturing it's leading star's radiance, with camera angles shooting down necklines. However, Penelope Cruz's incredible performance roots the film with a dignity that overpowers any crude camera angle Almodovar could dream up. A rather stilted actress in English, Penelope Cruz offers a stunning performance here, in which her emotions bubble over through her gorgeously full yet mysteriously dark eyes.
Cruz plays Raimunda, a young mother who has left the village she grew up in in favor of the city. Both Raimunda and her sister Sole (played by Lola Dueñas) return home at the start of the film to visit the town they grew up in, and when there they hear rumors that their dead mother's ghost has returned to care for their dying aunt. As time goes by, the women discover that this rumor might in fact be rooted in some truth. When their mother (Carmen Maura) appears to her children, secrets from the past are revealed that will shed incredible light on what makes these women who they are. The work between the ensemble is a joy to watch, yet Cruz remains front and center in a star-revitalizing performance fully deserving all the critical and award attention she has received this year.
VOLVER leaps between comedy and tragedy more then once in it's two hour running time... but isn't that essentially how life works? Though the film becomes a bit too far fetched at times in terms of the dramatics that go on around it, Almodovar makes it work. VOLVER is a modern day version of the great Greek tragedies. I would never want to live the lives of these characters, but to watch their lives and troubles unfold certainly makes for a compelling movie.
... B+ ...