FILM REVIEW: Volver

As most gay cinephiles, Mad Professah is a huge Pedro Almodóvar fan. Of the sixteen movies directed and/or written by him that have been released in the United States, I believe I have only missed seeing two, Kika and Tacones lejanos ("High Heels"), in the movie theater. So, I was quite excited to see Almodóvar's latest film at the Laemmle's Playhouse 7 Theaters in Pasadena. Volver stars Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura (the lead actress from his first international hit Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and is brimming with the briliance and brio of the now-legendary openly gay Spanish writer-director. He won the Best Foreign Language Film for Spain in 2000 with Todo sobre mi madre ("All About My Mother.") and was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay Oscars for his next film Hable con ella ("Talk To Her") in 2003, which won the Screenplay award. Almodóvar returned with (I think) the even better La mala educación ("Bad Education") which was shut out of Oscar contention in the midst of the inevitable Almodóvar backlash which had begun.

Hopefully this new film will be able to be evaluated on its own merits alone. Cruz is dazzling as Raimunda, a newly single mom of a fourteen-year old daughter named Paula struggling to make ends meet in the big city (Almodóvar 's beloved Madrid) with complicated familial obligations and an even more complicated familial past. Maura has a pivotal supporting role as Cruz's mother Irene who after being burned to death in a fire appears to many members of her family, including Raimunda's aunt, sister (Sole, played by Lola Dueñas) and daughter.

The script is sharp, with a well-shaped plot filled with memorable lines and Almodóvar's signature unusual situations leading to both hilarity and drama. Volver continues his intimate exploration of mother-daughter dynamics about which Talk to Her and All About My Mother revlolved. The look of the film is also remarkable with brilliant cinematography showcasing the director's typically gaudy color palette. The performances are stellar, with Penelope Cruz' revealing portrayal leading the way. Her cleavage has a supporting role and are practically another character in the film!

GRADE: A-.