Volver
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
The opening scene of Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver is indicative of the course of his entire film, which traverses the territories of comedy, tragedy and drama, yielding macabre laughs, sombre truths and joyful resolutions. The camera pans across a Spanish cemetery, wherein easterly winds are doing their best to thwart the efforts of three women cleaning a grave. Such a setting could understandably conjure a respectful, if not eerie, atmosphere. In contrast, however, the mood is buoyant, warm and defiant, as the family of women joke wryly and persist with their cleaning. Similarly, Volver negotiates the themes of incest, abuse, infidelity and murder with the same tone in which it communicates the brilliance of survival, and the immortality of love and family.
Slowly, the film draws in the viewer, as mysteries unfold, and the past links up with the present. Irene (Carmen Maura) returns to her home to resolve situations still festering after her death, and in doing so forges greater relationships with her daughters — Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Deuñas) — and granddaughter Paula (Yohana Cobo). Suspense is high, which is a common asset of Almodóvar’s films, though some members of the audience may spot the narrative twists before their revelation.
It is evident that the film has been marinated in cinematic tradition, with the music score channelling Hitchock’s Vertigo. There are also elements of Polanski’s film noir classic Chinatown weaved into the production. However, Volver diverges from such a tradition with its ultimately sparkling ending, and the way in which the female characters triumph, while the male characters are generally ridiculed. There is a lucid sensation of the liberation enjoyed by women after the passing of men, and thus Volver leaves one feeling invigorated, though not because it leaves an aftertaste of retribution. Philandering men are punished, but one is reminded of the hurt left by such acts of revenge. This is shown in the closing scene between Irene and Raimunda, as Irene swears to remain “until the end” in penance, as she accepts she must pay for her reaction to injustices.
Volver is a film that sounds on the off-beat, despite its entrenchment in serious issues, which contributes further to its contradictions. Almodóvar’s accolades as a leading contemporary director will only be enhanced by this gem of a film, which by its defiant resistance to pigeon-holing demands repeated viewing. One of the most electric, brain-twisting, warming films of the year!
