Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) lives and works in Madrid with her husband Paco and their daughter, Paula.
Raimunda's sister, Sole (Lola Dueñas), lives nearby.
The two sisters miss their mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), who died several years ago in a house fire along with their father.
When a former neighbor from their hometown reports that she has seen the ghost of Irene, the daughters do not believe her.
After a murder and a family tragedy, however, Irene's spirit materializes around her daughters to comfort them.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Penelope Cruz, her great cleavage, her undead mother and dark secrets of incest in the deep spot.
Perhaps Almodóvar's greatest work, the film is a mix between soapy melodrama, subtle comedy and echoes of cyclical violence. 'Volver (2006)' is a vibrant picture with plenty of colourful yet grounded characters and a plot with plenty of twists and turns.
This was my first Almodovar movie and I was bored in the beginning of the movie, although I was watching to improve my spanish :) And I am not so interested in watching sexy Penelope Cruz, although I admit that she is cute and beautiful. But for the sake of all the positive reviews, I continued to watch and it starts to get better and better.
Almodovar is a good director. A competent director.
Volver is a women centred movie, focused on the mother figure, typical from Almodóvar, but this time she comebacks from the dead in a comical/dramatic way.Simple plot, but pleasing and compelling, with a wonderful performance by Penélope Cruz and a strong supporting cast.
Plot is a vehicle. Last time a daughter had a bad blood with her mother (Hig Heels/Tacones Lejanos 1991), a lot of unavoidable and unreconciled pain and regret remained.
Pedro Almodovar has a long career starting from the 1980s till today. By the time he directed Volver, he has been recognized as being one of the best directors to ever come out from Spain.
One expected Pedro Almodovar to push the envelope with his films. One does not expect to be moved almost to tears with a conventional and touching story about love and secrets and family.