Volver pedro almodovar articles movie#

This ghost-mother is Irene (her name means вЂњpeaceвЂќ). She speaks of Raimunda and SoleвЂ™s mother as though she were alive, and Sole, when she goes upstairs, sees her motherвЂ™s picture and apparently smells something on an incongruous exercise bike. The first three go to visit RaimundaвЂ™s and SoleвЂ™s motherвЂ™s sister, ancient Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave in glasses for cataracts that weirdly magnify her eyes). (It is a custom in this village to buy your burial plot and tend it during your lifetime.) The point of the scene is death, and in the village the dead form part of the lives of the living. A spinster, she will clean her own grave. (The filmвЂ™s date is 2006.) A friend, close-cropped, gray Agustina (Blanca Portillo) passes by. These three are cleaning the grave of Raimunda and SoleвЂ™s mother and father, вЂњburned aliveвЂќ in 2002. AlmodГіvar closes in on three women: Raimunda (PenГ©lope Cruz), her teenage daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo), and RaimundaвЂ™s sister Sole or Soledad (Lola DueГ±as)-her name means вЂњalone,вЂќ and she is. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.The opening shot shows us village women cleaning the graves in a cemetery-a local custom. Irene returns from the afterlife to take care of unfinished business while Almodovar urges his viewers to return to their families, no matter how unorthodox such families may be.

вЂњVolverвЂќ means вЂњto returnвЂќ in Spanish, and that process is indeed one of the filmвЂ™s central themes. Capturing the power of the bond between mother and daughter, their emotional honesty warms the entire film. In one of the filmвЂ™s last scenes, Irene tells Raimunda the circumstances of her death and the reason why she has returned. As is typical in his films, the males in the film are weak and pathetic, while females, strong and resilient, overcome whatever situations life hands them. With вЂњVolver,вЂќ he focuses on the bonds between women. He is a master at portraying the nuances of the fairer sex, made evident in previous films such as вЂњAll About My MotherвЂќ (1999) and вЂњWomen on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownвЂќ (1988). Irene joins Sole after Aunt PaulaвЂ™s passing and attempts to address issues left unresolved before her death.

She is the deceased mother of hardworking Raimunda and kind Sole (Lola Duenas), as well as the sister of senile Paula (Chus Lampreave). Meanwhile, an element of the supernatural appears in the form of Irene (Carmen Maura). Immediately, Raimunda conceals the murder by cleaning the blood from the floor and hiding the body. When Raimunda returns home from work one day to find her husband dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, she learns that her daughter (Yohana Cobo) had stabbed him in an effort to prevent him from raping her. In a working class neighborhood of Madrid, Raimunda (Cruz) is completely dedicated her family, yet she is married to an unpleasant alcoholic.

Volver pedro almodovar articles movie#

A movie dedicated to uncovering the heart and soul of women, beautifully shot in vibrant colors and able to capture moments both poignant and humorous, вЂњVolverвЂќ is enchanting to watch-both cinematically and spiritually. Penelope Cruz is one of the yearвЂ™s Best Actress nominees-deservedly so-yet the Best Actress prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival went to the entire female cast of вЂњVolver.вЂќ The unorthodox sharing of the Cannes prize speaks volumes about the power of the performances within AlmodovarвЂ™s film.